Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)

Last updated:
September 24, 2025

Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da) is a slow-burn masterpiece of Turkish cinema, blending crime drama with philosophical meditation. More than just a murder mystery, it’s an exploration of guilt, time, and the human condition, set against the endless, shifting landscapes of rural Anatolia.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

The Search Begins

The film opens at night in the windswept steppes of Anatolia. A convoy of cars, including police, a prosecutor, a doctor, soldiers, and two suspects, is searching for a buried body. The main suspect, Kenan, claims he doesn’t remember the exact location because he was drunk during the crime. This uncertainty turns the search into a meandering journey, reflecting the aimlessness of life itself.

Conversations in the Dark

As the group drives from one potential burial site to another, they engage in conversations that range from trivial (about yogurt) to profound (about family and mortality). These dialogues reveal their frustrations, egos, and hidden sorrows. The vast emptiness of the Anatolian plains mirrors their inner emptiness.

The Village Interlude

In the middle of the night, the group stops at a village to rest and eat. Here, the beautiful daughter of the mayor brings them tea by candlelight. This moment is filmed with almost magical reverence, leaving both the characters and the audience spellbound. It’s one of the film’s most famous scenes, symbolizing purity and fleeting beauty amidst the bleakness.

Unearthing the Body

Eventually, at dawn, they locate the body. It’s buried shallowly, confirming the murder. The body is loaded into a vehicle for transport back to the city, and the weary group begins their return. The focus now shifts away from the procedural to the aftermath and the individuals.

Movie Ending

The final act centers on Dr. Cemal, who performs the autopsy on the victim. During the autopsy, he discovers something shocking: the victim was still alive when he was buried—he died from suffocation, not from the beating alone. This revelation implies that Kenan’s crime was more brutal than initially thought, but it also complicates the moral weight of the case.

Cemal, however, chooses not to record this fact in the official report. His silent decision reflects the film’s larger themes: the blurry line between truth and justice, the weariness of bureaucracy, and the compromises people make.

Meanwhile, Kenan breaks down emotionally, especially when confronted with the victim’s young son, who throws stones at him during the funeral procession. Kenan reveals that he knew the victim well and even implies an affair with his wife, adding yet another layer of guilt and complexity.

The movie closes quietly, with the doctor looking out the window, reflecting on life, death, and his own role in shaping “truth.” It’s an ending that offers no easy answers, but instead leaves viewers unsettled with moral ambiguity.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia has no post-credits scenes. Like most of Ceylan’s films, the credits roll in silence, leaving space for reflection rather than additional narrative.

Type of Movie

This is a crime drama blended with philosophical art-house cinema. It’s as much about the process of investigation as it is about the human soul, making it a meditative slow-burn rather than a conventional thriller.

Cast

Muhammet Uzuner as Doctor Cemal
Yılmaz Erdoğan as Prosecutor Nusret
Taner Birsel as Commissar Naci
Fırat Tanış as Kenan (the suspect)
Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan as Sergeant
Ercan Kesal as the Mayor
Burhan Yıldız as Eyüp (second suspect)

Film Music and Composer

Interestingly, the film uses minimal score. Instead, Ceylan relies on natural sounds—wind, footsteps, car engines, silence—to create atmosphere. This absence of traditional music emphasizes realism and heightens tension.

Filming Locations

Shot in the Anatolian steppes of Turkey, particularly in the Kırıkkale and Keskin regions, the setting is crucial. The endless plains, rolling hills, and desolate roads not only provide realism but also symbolize the characters’ psychological landscapes: vast, empty, and searching for meaning.

Awards and Nominations

Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival 2011) – Won
Turkey’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (not nominated)
Multiple awards at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, including Best Screenplay

Behind the Scenes Insights

Nuri Bilge Ceylan co-wrote the script with Ercan Kesal and Ebru Ceylan, drawing from real-life experiences of Kesal, who worked as a doctor in rural Anatolia.
The film’s length and pacing were deliberate; Ceylan wanted audiences to “feel” the endless search just as the characters do.
The famous tea scene was shot with almost no dialogue, relying on the power of imagery and silence.
Many cast members were non-professionals or from theater backgrounds, adding authenticity.

Inspirations and References

The film is inspired by real cases that Ercan Kesal encountered as a doctor.
It also reflects the style of Anton Chekhov’s stories, where conversations often wander but reveal deep truths.
The title itself nods to Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time series, suggesting epic scope.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

No alternate endings are publicly known. However, some scenes were reportedly shortened to tighten pacing. Early drafts gave more detail about the prosecutor’s backstory, but these were cut to maintain ambiguity.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The movie is not directly based on a book, but it borrows heavily from literary traditions—especially Chekhov and Dostoevsky. Its structure feels novelistic, but it’s original to the screenplay.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

The mesmerizing tea scene with the mayor’s daughter.
The moment when the body is finally unearthed at dawn.
Kenan’s breakdown during the funeral when the child throws stones.
The autopsy sequence, with its devastating revelation.

Iconic Quotes

Prosecutor Nusret: “Some people are born guilty, some are not. That’s the difference.”
Doctor Cemal (reflecting silently in the end, not spoken but conveyed): the weight of deciding what truth should be recorded.

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

The mayor’s daughter scene is intentionally lit like a Renaissance painting, symbolizing fleeting beauty amidst decay.
The apple rolling down the hill is a metaphor for fate—rolling uncontrollably, just like the characters’ lives.
Small jokes about yogurt and mundane details serve to humanize characters, but also highlight the absurdity of bureaucracy.

Trivia

The movie runs 157 minutes, yet has fewer than 100 edits—extremely rare in modern cinema.
Ceylan is known for his use of non-professional actors, though here he mixed them with seasoned Turkish stars.
The screenplay went through more than 15 drafts before filming began.

Why Watch?

Because it’s not just a murder mystery—it’s a meditation on truth, justice, guilt, and humanity. If you like slow, contemplative cinema that rewards patience with deep insights, this film is essential.

Director’s Other Movies

Distant (2002)
Climates (2006)
Three Monkeys (2008)
Winter Sleep (2014) – Palme d’Or winner
The Wild Pear Tree (2018)
About Dry Grasses (2023)

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)