FAMILY LIFE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART : "CAN"

You all know by now, that from time to time, I like giving Turkish films a bit of a plug. And I was especially pleased when this little number actually got an award from the Sundance film festival this year – the jury special award no less. Not that a film needs to have an award to be good, oh now. Like most people, I believe that there is some unfairness going on in the allocation. In addition to that, there are a lot of good films and only so many awards. So, the difference may be about the width of a gnat’s eyebrow, the end result may well be that the film ends up without an award. In short, I am glad Can got award. It thoroughly deserved it. Back in the day, melodramas and comedies of much the same ilk (including cultural differences of course) as the British “Carry on” films were just about all Turkish cinema could / chose to produce. This has changed over recent years thankfully and there is a lot more choice and variety in the output. But this does not mean, however, that neither melodramas nor comedies should be sneezed at. Can is a perfect example to this. The film is, without doubt or discussion, a melodrama. It doesn’t have anything corny, cheesy or just generally “stale” about it though. It is a modern melodrama, very much set in our day and dealing with the problems of our times. Even though, bizarrely enough, the story is not that “new” at all. Can is the name of a little boy. But before we get to him we must meet Ayşe and Cemal. They are a poor couple, obviously from rural Turkey, who have moved to Istanbul with big dreams. And these dreams include a family. However, disappointment quickly mounts when doctors inform them that Cemal is infertile and that he cannot have children. The couple is distraught, especially Cemal, who both really wanted to start a family and considers this condition a slur on his manhood. There is only one solution – to adopt. This adoption however, must be carried out in the strictest secrecy. Ayşe must, for nine months, pretend she is pregnant. Everyone must think that Can is their own little boy. The adoption – that consists basically of buying a baby of a poor family that cannot afford to keep him – takes place and Can comes home. And although Cemal is ecstatic about the new addition to the family, Ayşe finds herself completely unable to warm to the child… The tension in the little house grows and grows until it pushes all our characters to a point from which there is no return… As I said, this film is a melodrama, there is no discussing that. The overflow of feelings, the dramatic events, the sadness all pervade the film and give it its own air of melancholy. However, what makes it different from your common or garden melodrama is the fact that it uses very modern tropes and modern character building with these rather classic elements. Neither Cemal nor Ayşe is painted in black or white, and this may seem like a given in modern cinema but we have to remember it is not necessarily the case. Especially in a genre like melodrama where we are used to the “pure hearted mother” vs a possible “femme fatale” or alternatively a hard – hearted man who wants to take advantage of her. Here we see something that we are not really used to seeing : the mother – classically the nurturing, caring one – rejects the child (for a very long time I might add) and the father – typically the cold and heartless one - looks after the boy, changes his nappies and cares for him. In second place, not only are the characters more realistic and further from the norms of the genre, they also develop. They learn and they change and they do so in a realistic fashion, not in the rather abrupt way characters tend to “grow” – fitted neatly into 90 – 120 minute slots (although I cannot tell you how this happens without also handing out some quite serious spoilers, so you’ll have to watch and find out for yourselves hehe). I know that some people think melodramas are too corny, too cheesy or just plain too sad. But if you want to see a modern, up to date version of the genre that showcases some great cinematography and some brilliant actin to boot, I’d say don’t be put off by the quite foreign language and give Can a whirl. Those who are a bit more familiar with Turkish cinema will find it even more interesting because I found – as someone who found the “old school” melodramas borderline unwatchable – this film was a great experience and a big development in Turkish cinema. And this alone makes it worth watching…

A CRIME DRAMA WITH A TWIST: "ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA"

I have, I am pretty sure, written about Nuri Bilg Ceylan before. I have said, if I recall that his art is very much an acquired taste. Back in the day, I hated his films; they seemed to me rather pretentious, without much content, just one of those films that perhaps win so many awards because people cannot really understand what’s going on and thus assume whatever it is, is deep. The thing is, what is going on IS deep. It is just not immediately obvious to the untrained eye. The same goes for all brands of minimalist cinema. It’s a bit like plunging straight into Goethe’s Faust the moment you learn German. However, once you have acquired said taste this film is definitely the one for you. Or even if you just want to try something a little different. I have seen quite a few of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s films – if not all of them – and I personally feel that this is his best film yet… Our setting is a small town in the middle of central Anatolia. The steppes stretching out seemingly endlessly look very much like one another, life is tough and the men living there are even tougher. Two cars are driving through a dark, unlit night. But nothing two shifty is afoot. Two men, brothers, have been convicted of murder. The older brother – seemingly more intelligent than his rather “slow” younger brother anyway – has confessed to the murder, all this is fine but there is one small problem. They seem to be unable to locate the body. The suspect claims he buried it somewhere out of town so the police chief, the coroner, the prosecuter (increasingly irritated by the whole affair dragging on so late) the gendarmes and the suspects are rattling on through the night trying to make sense of the older brother’s rather vague description of where the body was buried. “I had had a bit to drink” he mutters apologetically. This is not so much a murder mystery - or rather not the kind of murder mystery you think it is, but I’ll let you discover that as you watch the film – but an occasion to take a closer look at the hearts of men, life in small towns and how very ordinary people cope with extraordinary things that happen in their lives. These lives are not exactly populated with extraordinary happenings, thus the coping mechanisms developed can be… Well you’re going to have to watch and see. First of all, rest assured, there is nothing neither gory nor sinister and supernatural about this film. Well, nothing more sinister than the contents of the human soul and that, I have to agree, can be pretty bad at times. The poignancy with which Ceylan paints emotions and the unexpected places and contexts in which these emotions emerge in all their glory is quite amazing. Of course this poignancy is partly due to Ceylan’s own experience, he himself is a small town boy, the son of a government official so I assume this coupled with his powers of observation warrant largely for poignancy of the film. And something simply has to be said about the cinematography. Ceylan was originally more interested in taking photographs and this is very, very obvious from the beauty of some of the scenes and the framing. There are haunted, beautiful portraits of Anatolia dotted among this very human tragedy. The secret of watching and enjoying this film is to not get stuck on the whole murder thing. Of course the murder (or murders, but like I said I don’t want to give too many details on that one) are important but they are far from being the main thing. Focus on what is going on around them, the characters, their reactions, the mood created. If you do, a whole different film is going to emerge for you, and you will be able to follow the “real” story as it were. I concede that it is slightly hard going, almost 2 and a half hours long and in Turkish but I sincerely hope you give it a spin. There really was a reason for it winning the Grand Prix at Cannes…

PAIN IN A MARRIAGE : 40 M2 DEUTSCHLAND

Ok, for the next couple of weeks ( I may or may not have mentioned this point) most of the entries to this blog will be made up of the films I saw in my local film festival. Not the biggest festival in the world, that’s for sure, but it sure comes up with the goods! The newest and most talked about films of the year rub shoulders with time-honored classics – and some films that should be cited among classics but are not - and we, the movie-goers, sit there and drool. And lament minor details like the inability to be in two places at once. Now, this is one you probably haven’t heard of. It’s by a Turkish director, Tevfik Başer, and it was shot 25 whole years ago, in 1986. This being a festival, he was kind enough to show up after the screening for a question and answer session, to which I will not be able to help but touch on in just a couple of minutes, after I give you an idea of “the plot”.
In the mid-eighties, a Turkish couple, Turna and Dursun move to Germany. Dursun, the husband, is a factory owner, Turna, the wife, is a housewife. Both are uneducated people who have come here from a small village in Anatolia. Nothing “new” so far, right? Dursun, like any other husband, goes off to work each morning. However, before he goes off to work, he makes sure he locks his wife in the house, because “she doesn’t know what these Germans are like”. So, for Turna (whose name, ironically, translates as Crane (the bird) ) a life of imprisonment begins. Nothing she says or does can convince Dursun to let her out, or even take her seriously, so for Turna there is only one option left. Finding a way of communicating with the outside world from within the 40 m2 she is trapped in…
First of all, as I watched the film, I was saddened by its relative relevance even today. Assuredly, in Turkey many things have changed, this cannot be denied, but especially in rural areas, small villages were education is not as wide spread as it should be, women live in similar conditions. And of course, if the family decides to emigrate, it is not unimaginable that they live in much the same state as Turna.
Anyone who thinks this “unrealistic” may be interested to hear that Tevfik Başer based this film on a true story. He studied abroad for many long years before returning to Turkey, and some of that time abroad was spent in Germany, training to be a cameraman and studying media studies, specifically documentaries. He had observed one of his neighbors – a woman like Turna, locked in her house day in and day out – and had begun to try and conceive of a way he could make a documentary on the matter. This slowly mixed with fiction in his head, and thus his first script was born… He was 25 when he shot this film apparently. Very brave move I must say; the film takes place in the 40 m2 of the house with almost only the two main characters and a handful of side characters all of whom we see for under 10 minutes. You might think it would be “unwatchable” so to speak, in fact, it is not. As you get into the psychological development of the characters watch their stories unravel, you can’t help but get caught up in it.
As he spoke in the question and answer section, Mr. Başer admits to being heavy handed with the symbolism in parts – a fair enough comment. “I was young” he said (Or so I recall) “It was the excitement of my first film; I would probably have done a lot of things differently if I shot it again today.” This saddened me immensely, kind of like a child being abandoned by a parent. The symbolism IS heavy handed in places, but seeing as Turna is trapped in a couple of rooms and thus everything in it is “blown out of proportion” so to speak, does this really matter so much? I think not. It gives a good sense of claustrophobia. The claustrophobia both the characters are trapped by, in a sense. Turna is trapped in the house and Dursun is trapped by his prejudices and he is completely unaware he is trapped… Very sad… No, I reckon the film is perfect as it is.
During the session one much-lamented fact that the film is rarely shown and not really available on DVD except within a few German compilations… But I decided to review it anyway, you really must watch it if you get the chance, it’s a real little gem you would NOT want to miss out on…

POSSIBLY ONE OF THE BEST TURKISH FILMS EVER MADE : “MUSTAFA HAKKINDA HER ŞEY”

My job means that I watch many different films from many different countries. Turkey isn’t famous for its cinematic prowess as a general rule but in the last couple of years some truly world-class works have begun to emerge – take singer turned director Mahsun Kırmızıgül’s latest work “Five Minarets in New York” – there was a massive gala opening in New York and everything, it was ALL OVER the news… A couple of months back Semih Kaplanoğlu’s film “Bal” was honored at the Cannes Film Festival… That is why I decided to share with you “Mustafa Hakkında Her Şey” – translated as “Everything About Mustafa”. It’s quite a bit older than the “Five Minarets” and it’s not a showy action movie with special effects. However, anyone who wants to steer clear of flashy effects will tell you that THIS is one of the true masterpieces of Turkish cinema heralding many more great works to come…
Mustafa is, all in all, a happy man. He is the successful owner of an advertising agency. His marriage was a love match and he and his wife Ceren are very happy with their young son Kerem. At least, this is what Mustafa thinks when, on what starts off as a perfectly normal day, his wife Ceren is killed in a traffic accident. This tragic event proves a Pandora’s Box for Mustafa – his wife is killed returning to İstanbul from some distance away from the city; from a place where Mustafa had no idea she had any business. There is a young man with her in the car called Fikret that he has never seen and who is gravely injured… Mustafa must know the truth about his wife’s secret life. And he can see only one way of accomplishing this. He kidnaps Fikret out of hospital and takes them to his family’s abandoned summer house. He ties him to a chair and begins questioning him about his relationship with his wife. As the hours go by, the conversation becomes stranger and stranger. Soon, one thing becomes clear. Fikret isn’t the only one with something to confess…
This film is no less than an assorted plate of the best Turkey culturally has to offer. The director Çağan Irmak is one of the most successful Turkish directors to date. The three leading actors (whom you wouldn’t have heard of if you live outside of Turkey but Fikret Kuşkan (Mustafa), Başak Köklükaya (Ceren) and Nejat İşler (Fikret) ) are among the best of their generation and present truly world class performances. Mor ve Ötesi who are responsible for the soundtrack are among the most successful bands of modern Turkey. As for the story itself, it is very cleverly constructed and we are glued to our seats as we watch the strong and successful Mustafa slowly but surely unraveling as both his marriage and his life are destroyed. It is by no means easy viewing but a true-blue psychological thriller. And by the way, don’t worry. This is not the domain of Quentin Tarantino or Saw – no gore. Just the human mind and soul laid bare… And that is possibly more frightening than any number of monsters or missing limbs…

ÜÇ MAYMUN / THREE MONKEYS

Now, I am fully aware that the film I am about to review is a supremely “niche” affair. This is a Turkish film by one of the most famous Turkish directors Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Now, as a person I honestly don’t know the guy. As a director one either loves or hates him. Well such is the case for most of his tribe – he’s a minimalist. Now don’t get scared by terminology, you know the kind of film I mean : Minimal dialogue, minimal camera action, minimal special effects if any. Editing is merely a means to go from one scene to another, in short there is very little of a lot of things to the point that it’s surprising there is a “resulting film” at all. Add to that the fact that in quite a few of these films symbolism features quite heavily and the resulting concoction can prove “unwatchable” for a lot of people. I sympathize: I am one of these people. Most of the time. I am also open to change and new information which is mainly why I try my best to attend seminars, classes and the like concerning different areas of the cinema it was during one of these classes that I was introduced to a novel way of looking at the film. Now, I am VERY far from being an instant convert to minimalist cinema but after being introduced a new point of view to the whole affair I decided to try and express my emotions on the matter to you all and see if I could get you to give a go as well.

The story is that of a driver, a modest man and the personal driver of a local politician. One night the above – mentioned local politician has a traffic accident, killing a pedestrian. The elections are approaching and he doesn’t want to “dirty his name” so he asks the driver to take the fall for him. He will pay good money, take care of his wife and son… The driver is a poor man – and accepts. Life in his little home goes on pretty much as usual until his son fails his university entrance exams. Ismail – his son – doesn’t want to re-study he wants to buy a car and be a shuttle driver for a local school. Since the mother doesn’t work and the father’s employer is their only means of support she goes to him for the money even though she’s pretty sure her husband would not approve. The local politician will not only give her the money but professes that he will “do anything for her”. This will have devastating results on each member of the small family…

Now, the thing to bear in mind while watching this film is that it is the story and the story-telling that is in the foreground here. Nothing more, nothing less. Even the story itself is not that original. That’s why I only recommend this film for those of us who actually enjoy the technicalities of a film (and like I said I am not necessarily one of those people!) What is original – and what jars about this film – is the fact that a lot of the theoretically key moments or “big events” of the film are actually shown on screen. We are led up to them and then we focus on the results, leaving the larger part of the work to our imaginations. The other thing I like about minimalist cinema – or rather the examples of minimalist cinema I have actually liked – is the closeness to real life and real people. The story, the surroundings the acting… For all the world you are in a lower middle class household in Turkey not a film set. It gives one the spooky feeling of eavesdropping – this is a little odd but also connects with the voyeur that exists in all of us. Admittedly, being a “new convert” I still find some of the sequences “too long”. Especially since “action” as we are used to is at a minimum and the whole affair is above all psychological. However, if you feel like something different, this is a good quality example – with , I hasten to add, no symbolism. I also want to add that the guy didn't get chosen best director at the Cannes film festival for nothing... Recommended for the adventurous…

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…