The Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has finally made a masterpiece. It’s also a comedy—not the kind that makes you belly-laugh, but one that rouses a small smile now and then.

The Wild Pear Tree is about a young man, Sinan, who has just finished college and wants to become a writer of literary or serious novels. But his small town, his father and family, and his community keep holding him back. Sinan reads a lot, and flirts with a local girl who is also oppressed by small town life. As expected, there are sequences in this movie that break with the plot and enter the region of pure cinematic poetry. Ceylan’s movies are always gorgeous.

The Wild Pear Tree is screened at Northwest Film Forum beginning this Friday, March 8, and runs through next Thursday, March 14. Read more reviews on our Film & Tv page. For more movies coming up this weekend, visit our Movie Times page.