This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Film 4 champions movies that most viewers would never otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy, let alone even know about. Therefore, they are to be congratulated and supported for showing minor gems such as 'Honey' (Bal).A small number of films have been applauded for stripping down both pace and cinematic frills to convey a way of life. Literally, any slower and we'd be in real time! Italy's 'A Tree of Wooden Clogs' is a famous example which understandably divides opinion quite severely.It is almost incidental as to whom, what, and where 'Bal' is set and about. It will obviously appeal to those who prefer the organic side to things in life, whether in nature, lifestyle or in the cinematic process. Bal covers all these to a generous degree.Yes, it features throughout a six year old stammering Turkish schoolboy - Yusuf - not particularly photogenic, or cute, or naughty, or anything. Just an everyday kid who has a bee-keeping father, who doesn't actually keep bees. Well, not in any one place - he places the hides in remote and beautiful areas and then extracts the honey. His quite young (looking) dutiful mother picks tea.I feel quite privileged to have been given a beautifully, often exquisitely, photographed study of this life and taking up just two hours of my own life. I learned much and there is a quiet story in there somewhere - you can make of it what you will, it's almost unimportant. Or is it?I turned my hi-fi amplifier up quite high when playing the film's sound through it and would strongly suggest you do similar. The all- encompassing natural sounds are so well recorded, every nuance and snippet of sound help paint a very vivid sonic picture. You could almost close one's eyes and listen to this on its own. Almost uniquely, (and thankfully) you won't have to suffer a sudden booming beat or great crescendo of added noise to make you jump out of your skin. It would sound great with headphones, too, I'm sure (as long as you have a stereo source, of course).Personally, I always find it comforting when a film, involving a child features a good teacher. We all know and recognise one, from our own childhoods - Yusuf's teacher is measured and fair, calm and patient, rewarding good work, dissuading bad. These scenes were an absolute pleasure.Apparently, this is the final part in a trio of films by Turkish writer/director Semih Kaplanoglu, though chronologically, it is the first part. Naturally, now, I want to see the other two parts, 'Egg' and 'Milk'. I'm hoping that Film 4 will be showing these, too, at some point.

The slow pace of Bal works to great affect as it explores the tribulations of a young boy not only with the conventional use of a storyline narrative but also with a range of beautiful compositions which equals the sophisticated style of vivid portraits.Yusuf is a young boy who is an outsider yet vastly intelligent. He is at odds with his school life never fitting in amongst his peers, constantly watching them from a distance along with struggling in parts of his studies. When Yusuf stutters through a reading in class minimal techniques are used, only the camera slowly tracking towards Yusuf and multiple POV shots of school peers focusing on Yusuf in awkward silence contain the scenes vibe yet it strikes such an impact emotionally feeling Yusuf's embarrassment. Whereas watching Yusuf with his Father in a simple static shot as they work and explore in the local woodlands shows his deep connection with nature by knowing the names and mannerisms of various plants, it is wonderful to witness the bond the pair have and to feel Yusuf's tranquillity. The techniques used to capture these moments are simple yet effective showing the brilliance of Bal.Bal contains strong visual elements not only in the minimal techniques used to capture Yusuf's story but in the compositions which are styled with outstanding detail. Yusuf sat alone in a barn facing the camera in mostly dark lighting to inhabit his depressing mood before the head of his Father's donkey appears from behind Yusuf to provide comic relief convey his mood in the same manner a later dream sequence. After his Father goes missing Yusuf begins to have haunting dreams, one of which is himself stood alone in the forest with the visuals being one of a greyish palette before dead bees drop into his hand as a foreboding of his Father's death.In a way it is hard to describe Bal as a film because its much more. Bal is a piece of visual art that transcends from its quiet storyline to present the atmosphere and emotions embedded in Yusuf's life as well as those around him with striking use of compositions and ingenuity. Bal is not a viewing experience for everyone, only those who appreciate the visual sophistication celluloid can offer will be moved by this film.

*** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS *** I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about this movie. It won the Golden Bear in Berlin, but, first, it's a German co-production (so, who knows...) and second, festival winners are not always the movies that bowl me over.After having seen it, I must say that I am very touched. The reviews about the movie always focus on the beautiful and calm storytelling and the awesome Anatolian landscapes. But in my view it's primarily a chamber play with a quite depressing story. The young boy Yussuf suffers from strong stuttering. The only person he opens to is his father, a beekeeper. Only with his father the boy can communicate, he whispers complete sentences and expresses his feelings. At the end of the movie, the son will realize that his father died in the woods, the last screen showing the child sleeping under a giant dark tree.The acting from the boy is superb. There are many heartwarming scenes, especially when the boy sees his mother crying and drinks a cup of milk (what he normally hates to do), looking hopefully at her afterward, as if his self-conquest could change anything about the cruel situation. In this scenes the movie really manages to take us into the child's world.What makes the movie a little irritating is not only the slow rhythm (that helps to create those real-life magic moments) and the very few dialogue, but also the lack of emotional gestures, especially between Yussuf and his mom. If the director of the film would have been let's say Michael Haneke, it would surely not be interpreted as a hymn to (natural) life, but as a sober analysis of failed communications.Finally, if you generally do not like slow and minimalistic movies, don't watch this one. It's breathtaking slowly, and very many and very long scenes will only show the boy looking around an empty room with big eyes. All in all, Honey is a naturalistic child drama offering enough space and time for free associations and deep feelings. It's surely recommendable to watch it in a cinema. Although it's overall great done, you might not stay awake until the end when lying on a soft couch at home.

From time to time you encounter a movie that's excellent, but somehow doesn't get to you the way it should. This one's such a movie.So much is done the right way: the calm narrative style and some wonderfully photographed scenes deepen the already atmospheric location work; the actors are convincing; and there's no need for cheap plot twists and conclusions.But something's missing, maybe some sort of magic realism that would transcend the simple story into a meatier concoction.I liked it, but I didn't love it.7 out of 10 humiliating book-readings