Timur Selcuk Movies
- 2005
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The rich musical heritage of the Turkish metropolis located between the Orient and the Occident comes to the screen in director Fatih Akin's cinematic tribute to Istanbul's thriving music scene. In bringing both historic and recent expressions of Istanbul's unique legacy of music to the screen in a documentary that strives to both inform and entertain, Akin offers compelling insight into both the creative history of the city as well as the lives of the individuals who populate it. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Safiye Ayla, Cem Karaca, (more)
- 1993
Mavi Sürgün is a fictionalized account of one period of the life of a Turkish journalist who was condemned to exile for an article he wrote in 1925. He turned his punishment into a reward by creating a little paradise in what is today the holiday resort, Bodrum. In fact he is considered by some to be the first ecologist. The film concentrates on this latter aspect of his character and through flashbacks portrays the inner turmoil of a man who is trying to come to terms with his past. The slow pace is somewhat of a drawback, the flashbacks are often confusing and the protagonist is not always very convincing. But the photography of the country side is exceptional Kenan Ormanlar and the short appearance by a very theatrical Hanna Schygulla of Fassbinder fame adds a little spice to the drama. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Can Togay, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
- 1989
The title of this German film translates to Vatanyolu -The Journey Home. Like many films of the late 1980s, Vatanyolu dramatizes the trials and tribulations of foreigners living in contemporary West Germany -- in this instance, a Turkish laborer. Offered a great deal of money if he'll return to his old job in his native land, our hero finds that his family is dead-set against moving back. Despite the plotline's darker aspects, Vatanyolu-Die Heimreise is essentially a comedy. Whether or not its appeal will extend to American audiences is best left up to those audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yaman Okay, Fusun Sen, (more)
- 1989
In love with a waitress whom he sees often on his street-cleaning route, a shy city worker at first tries to get a friend of his to plead his case with the girl. Instead, his friend decides to try and take the girl for himself. While performing in a community play as a policeman, our street cleaner decides to keep his uniform on a little longer, and begins to regularly impersonate a policeman. Not only does he fool the businessmen in his neighborhood, but he also fools the local beat cop into thinking he is the genuine article. This confusion puts him into a number of offbeat and amusing situations through which, eventually, he wins his girl. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kemal Sunal
- 1986
A futile struggle against the rich and powerful animates this tragedy about two star-crossed lovers. When a prefect investigates the slaying of a local family, he is moved to bring Yusuf, the sole survivor home with him. Adopted into another lifestyle, the impoverished orphan is raised by new parents and grows up with the prefect's daughter, who is about his same age. When the two young people reach adulthood, they fall in love and plan to marry, but then the son of a powerful and wealthy local VIP takes an interest in the young woman. Yusuf is given a job as a tax collector that takes him far away from home, leaving his love alone and undefended. The formula is set for tragedy as Yusuf tries to overcome the forces set against his coming marriage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Talat Bulut, Derya Arbas, (more)
- 1982
Erden Kiral, one of the most important directors of Turkish film, was in self-imposed exile in Germany when the army ruled his country. Hakkari'de Bir Mevsim, which is based on a famous novel by Ferit Edgü, is about the inner voyage of an intellectual who is exiled as a schoolmaster to a little village in the highlands of south-eastern Turkey. In this town without roads or electricity, where snow stays on the ground for at least seven months, people forgotten to the world live by their own rules. As the hero tries to reach over the bridge and understand the tragic existence of these people, he comes closer to understanding himself. This Silver Bear winner at the 1983 Berlin International Film Festival has impressive photography of the mountainous regions Kenan Ormanlar and convincing acting by one of Turkey's finest actors, Genco Erkal. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
