The Long Way Home
2013 · 112 MIN · IMDB 7.2 · 737 VOTES · DIR. Alphan Eşeli
Overview
Inhospitable at the best of times, the snow-covered mountainscapes of Eastern Anatolia constituted a fatal frontier for many war exiles after the battle of Sarikamish in 1915, and provides a canvas laced with beauty and threat for this bone-chilling survival yarn, the superb debut feature of Alphan Eşeli. Starting out with three characters – a refugee mother and daughter and their grizzled guide – the film traces their daunting trek across this barren terrain to safety, with the Russians encroaching and other stragglers, including a pair of wounded, frostbitten Ottoman soldiers, all orbiting the same burnt-out village they find in their path. Puncturing its aura of ghostly impasse with some shocking narrative reversals, and constantly prickling with the mutual dread of strangers in gruelling extremes, the movie stakes out hugely credible ground next to established Eastern Front war classics (In the Fog, Come and See) while remaining thoroughly its own beast. (Source: LFF programme)
Dialogue Timeline — 322 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:33 Having entered World Warl alongside Germany...
00:03:19 Come on!
00:07:15 Do you think they are aware of our situation?
00:17:21 Nihan?
00:23:00 What is your name?
00:23:48 And then last night, the Russians raided in.
00:24:57 We don't. We need to make do until the army arrives.
00:32:23 Nobody knows this area better than I do, sir.
00:34:48 - They'll arrive any day now. - What if they don't come?
00:40:58 They're dead.
00:41:52 Saci bey, make up your mind.
00:43:17 The only thing I feared was that the war might be over...
00:45:10 ...tried to stitch him up by the light of a lantern.
00:53:03 We need to bury him properly.
00:58:15 We have enough food for a day or two. We can consume it on the way.
01:00:57 You're a coward of a man...
01:09:35 Run, run!
01:12:58 You're a strong girl. We need to leave; No time to lose.
01:15:21 Sir, let them go, for God's sake...
01:25:32 Zeynep!
01:34:37 Look, son...
01:36:58 I'm going to the front tomorrow.
01:41:26 I come from Keþan.
01:43:57 I just want to get back home...