It has an interesting and compelling subject, but it moves a bit slow.

The story of THE WATCHTOWER is a compelling one: Nihat (Olgun Simsek) takes over as a guard in a lonely watch-tower in Central Anatolia, living entirely alone except for occasional communication via radio with his fellow-guards. He has lost his wife and child in an accident and shuns company as a result. Seher (Nilay Erdonmez) has taken a job as a "hostess" with a small bus company; it soon becomes clear that she has abandoned her life as a student. She has been raped by her uncle, and is now pregnant, even though she dare not tell anyone. Eventually she has the baby in a lonely room and abandons it in the bus station forecourt. Nihat and Seher are brought together as Nihat rescues the baby and takes Seher in; however, the two of them find it difficult, almost impossible to get along. As two of life's misfits, they prefer solitude, with the power of self-determination. In structural terms, however, THE WATCHTOWER is a bit of a mish-mash; it begins with the kind of long, lingering shots of a landscape with one character moving within the frame characteristic of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films; it subsequently includes the kind of interior shots with washed-out colors reminiscent of Zeki Demirkubuz; and ends with a melodramatic plot straight out of Atif Yilmaz's SELVI BOYLUM AL YAZMALIM (1978),the classic love-story starring Turkan Soray. The ending is a total cop-out, as it shows Nihat looking out into the desolate landscape, while not telling us anything about Seher. While being an admirer of Esmer's previous work, I have to say that THE WATCHTOWER is is perhaps her least satisfying effort.

When the film started, with protagonist Nihat slowly making his way to the remote outpost as a guard, part of a forest fire monitoring team, I wasn't sure what I was into. However, as the film progressed the plot became clear - two people, Nihat the widower and Seher, a young woman trying to hide an unwanted pregnancy, crossed their paths in the remote, mountainous part of Turkey. Both wanted to get away from the rest of the world to get over a personal trauma. The misty scenery was beautiful to look at, the acting was solid, and a child-birth scene was so realistic it became disturbing.

In my view 'Watchtower' is at par with 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' in terms of what contemporary Turkish cinema has to offer. Both were great films. And they played a key role in converting me to a fan of Turkish cinema. I highly recommend this film to anyone who seeks an intelligent drama, one without a big budget, CGI effects, violence or sex.