Every Once Upon A Time Movie Ranked Worst To Best

There's a murder investigation at the heart of this bleakly meditative Turkish drama from arthouse director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but what is really on show is a long dark night of the soul against the backdrop of the eerie expanse of the Anatolian steppe.

The film is not really concerned with the whodunnit elements of the crime. It is more focused on the series of small moments of intimate interaction between cops, doctors or soldiers as they discuss yoghurt or mortality.

Ceylan's movie is talky and, as is par for the course with Once Upon A Time films, epically lengthy and languidly paced. But it is full of artful moments of brilliantly composed visuals and subtly sophisticated character work.

An unsettling study of different forms of Turkish masculinity under pressure, Once Upon A Time In Anatolia is a film that ultimately rewards the viewer's patience.

The movie won the prestigious Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, a prize second only to the Palme d'Or. (Ceylan would win the latter with his next movie, Winter Sleep).