Tepenin Ardi - Beyond The Hill (2012)

Directed by: Emin Alper
Country: Turkey / Greece

Review: “Beyond The Hill” is a Turkish thriller that marks Emin Alper’s debut on filmmaking and screenwriting, and should not be mistaken with the Romanian “Beyond The Hills” from the same year, directed by the acclaimed Cristian Mungiu. In a remote place, somewhere among the mountains of Anatolia, three generations of a quirky family are reunited to defend their land from a mysterious group of nomads who live behind the hill. Other people help the family maintaining the land in good conditions. However, the dispute with the nomads will serve as an excuse for everything bad that might happen to them, and the doubt about who are the real culprits is installed. These problematic people revealed to be obsessed, affected with loneliness, and evinced disturbed behaviors, which made me wonder if some of the incidents were real or hallucinations. Shots coming from nowhere just made the confusion and suspicion grow, but Alper constantly hid the truth from our eyes, leaving everything in suspension. With incisive silences, “Beyond The Hill” was emotionally detached, creating good moments of tension but without taking them to the next level. By playing with our senses, this illusive exercise on thriller, promised so much but let me down in its final moments. Nevertheless, it still deserves a good look, leaving me tuned for Alper’s coming works.