A TASTE OF THE ORIENT - UZAK İHTİMAL

Uzak İhtimal is actually a film by Turkish director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun. First up, the film is in Turkish, so not for those of you who don’t feel comfortable with films in languages you don’t understand… (No offence meant by the way – I mean, my own mother hates watching films in languages she doesn’t understand!) I was going to stay away from films that might be considered “too obscure” but Uzak İhtimal (translates as Small Possiblity) has one a few international awards (Rotterdam Film Festival and Tofifest film festival in Poland for instance) And it’s a really good film. So here goes :
I have to say, Uzak İhtimal is a very typically Turkish film. This is the reason I am glad it has been shown quite extensively in European festivals.
Put briefly, this is the story of a religious official, Musa, who is posted to Istanbul for his first job. He is not from a very rural area in fact he is from Ankara, the capital, but the massive megalopolis that is Istanbul completely baffles him. The story takes him through many facets of life in Istanbul but because of his sheltered and pious upbringing, he is not sure how to negotiate through them. And as he fumbles through, he naturally makes mistakes that have unexpected and sometimes tragic consequences.
Ok, so some of you may find the storyline slightly cheesy. In my opinion, the acting could definitely have been improved as well. But the success of this film is largely elsewhere: in the atmosphere it creates. As you watch, you will see a lot of scenes from everyday life in Istanbul and you will experience the true bewilderment of the little man faced with modern life. You will see the growing pains of Anatolian Turkey faced with the European perspective. (Don’t infer that the film is necessarily political but the parallel is eerily present even though it may not have been meant to be put there) And you will see the confusion of each and every person who immigrates to another country and tries to start afresh…
In short, a magnificent gem of an insight – if you’re into that kind of thing…