Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys) (2008)

77% of critics liked it
(56 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(2,442 ratings)

Set in the areas of Istanbul rarely visited by foreigners, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's strange detective story traces the journey of a family that is suddenly dislocated when minor shortcomings explode into exorbitant deceptions. Now their only hope of remaining together is to cover up the truth,… More Set in the areas of Istanbul rarely visited by foreigners, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's strange detective story traces the journey of a family that is suddenly dislocated when minor shortcomings explode into exorbitant deceptions. Now their only hope of remaining together is to cover up the truth, but can ignoring the hardships and responsibilities that would be impossible to endure ever really invalidate the existence of the truth? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 49 min.
Directed By: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Written By: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: May 15, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Nov 24, 2009
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

Critic Reviews

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Three Monkeys... is the latest eyeful from director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, one of a handful of international directors deserving of the title artist.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
An elegant exercise with four characters trapped by class, guilt and greed.
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
There are enough ponderous moments that you may find yourself resisting the heavy mood.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The pace is deliberate, sometimes slow, but the whirlpool pull of this tragic psychological thriller is irresistible.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
This is powerful filmmaking for discerning viewers.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
With Three Monkeys, Nuri Bilge Ceylan trains his cool, detached sensibility on a ripe and pulpy melodrama that might have originated in a James M. Cain novel.
Stan Hall, Oregonian
The noirish plot doesn't quite jibe with characters this inscrutable; all you really know about them is that they appear incapable of honesty.
Jeanne Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
The film is photographed in a noirish style, but it is so plodding that no part of it is the least bit thrilling.
David Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
If you like foreign films nearly two hours in length that are one long lingering shot, then "Three Monkeys" is for you.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
Three Monkeys proves again that [Nuri Bilge] Ceylan has the eye of an artist, with a soul to match. If only his storytelling skills were equally represented.
Brian Tallerico, Movie Retriever
Ceylan finds moments of stunning visual composition and his cast truly delivers, so art-house audiences will more than likely be satisfied by Three Monkeys, even if it's not a knockout punch.
Matt Pais, Metromix.com
Everything bubbling under the surface mostly stays there, while the soap opera-esque film very slowly becomes a pulp drama without any juice.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Tells an old-fashioned, melodramatic story, but director Nuri Bilge Ceylan does so vividly. . . A moral morass is a bit overwrought, but is revealed through visual poetry.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Stylish cinematography along with decent performances don't compensate for an often tedious plot that lacks any real tension, imagination or palpable poignancy.
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
Ceylan orchestrates all the elements of his film into a gripping experience of manipulation and retribution, with an ironic final twist.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A dysfunctional Turkish family struggles with the burdens of guilt, denial, and betrayal.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Director Ceylan uses neo-Antonioni techniques for a plot which calls much more for Billy Wilder or the Coen brothers. Cinematography can only go so far. In the final analysis, you need dialog, plot and character development for a good movie. "Three Monkey
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
If you're looking for an adultery- and revenge-fueled family melodrama so subdued that it keeps a hit-and-run fatality, cuckoldry, and murder entirely off screen, Three Monkeys is your movie and Nuri Bilge Ceylan your not-so-genre-inclined auteur.
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Calling Three Monkeys a genre detour is putting it charitably; it's a downbeat dead end that reduces its talented maker to a mere shadow-play stylist.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Gordon A

Not as intense as 'Climates' but still filmed with an exquisite painterly eye. The routine plot is shaken alive by two striking scenes which left me gasping and add a star to the score alone - I won't spoil the surprise by saying any more.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Three Monkeys," Servet(Ercan Kesal) is a politician who has just been involved in an apparent hit and run. Fearing the effect this could have on his upcoming election, he persuades his driver Eyup(Yavuz Bingol) to take the heat and a six month… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Three Monkeys," Servet(Ercan Kesal) is a politician who has just been involved in an apparent hit and run. Fearing the effect this could have on his upcoming election, he persuades his driver Eyup(Yavuz Bingol) to take the heat and a six month sentence. In exchange, he will continue receiving his salary and get a lump sum at the end of his sentence. Meanwhile, Eyup's grown son Ismail(Rifat Sungar) cannot bring himself to move far from the couch. Upon learning that Ismail needs a car for a promising job, his mother Hacer(Hatice Aslan) goes to Servet to ask for an advance on the lump sum.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]While at least intriguing enough to let the audience draw their own conclusions, "Three Monkeys" is also very much dramatically inert in trying to answer the eternal question of how much you can tell about a person from her ring tone. Otherwise, this is a tale of loss, almost unbearably so, since it has been simmering for years and has sucked the life out of a household which is represented by the desaturated color scheme. However, there is the occasional sign of life and the color red makes a welcome appearance in a key scene.[/font]
Hal M

Very disappointing. The plot has development without sufficient resolution. Show us what happens at critical junctures--don't simply have some character tersely confess. Also there is a considerable failure to establish the character interactions: This woman goes gaga over… More
Very disappointing. The plot has development without sufficient resolution. Show us what happens at critical junctures--don't simply have some character tersely confess. Also there is a considerable failure to establish the character interactions: This woman goes gaga over the politician guy, gets down on her hands and knees? We viewers haven't been sufficiently prepared for that strange scene (unjustifiably shot from the distance).
Nicolas K

Ceylan creates moments of mesmerizing visual composition in a film that although it does not seem significant, you grow fond of it. Photography and score are excellent and the actors are very expresssive even when they are not talking.
Daisy M

Turkish movie the three monkeys, was about a husband, wife and a son living a stable life. A fourth character,a creepy politician whose actions interrupted the happy life of these trio by a chain of lies, and lust.A typical story of good people who became entwined in actions mostly… More
Turkish movie the three monkeys, was about a husband, wife and a son living a stable life. A fourth character,a creepy politician whose actions interrupted the happy life of these trio by a chain of lies, and lust.A typical story of good people who became entwined in actions mostly for money and nothing came out good from these actions. One way and another, everyone's life was affected, and destroyed, but the director left these judgments over to the viewer. It was a of movie that in the beginning was really hard watching it because it was slow, but in the second part it got more character development and became interesting. The cinematography was great to look at, even being dark and sober,it was beautifully shot with the background of Istanbul.