Ben Hopkins Movies

A small-time entrepreneur hatches a scheme to hoist himself up the ladder of success in this satirical comedy. Mihram (Tayanc Ayaydin) is a maverick peddler who will buy and sell anything that will turn a profit, legal or otherwise, and he roams the Turkish countryside in his truck looking for his latest score. Mihram can support himself and his wife Elif (Senay Aydin) well enough through his efforts, but he wants to move on to something more stable and respectable, and he would like to get black market kingpin Mustafa (Hakan Sahin) off his back. When Mihram gets a line on someone selling their business distributing cell phones, he's convinced his golden opportunity has arrived. However, Mihram doesn't have the cash to buy in right away until he hears about a local doctor whose order of life-saving drugs has been stolen by gangsters. Mihram is able to arrange a deal that puts the medicine in the hands of the doctor and leaves a wad of cash in his pocket, and he thinks he's on his way to a new business until his next fast-money scheme takes him to Kazakhstan. The Market: A Tale Of Trade was an official selection at the 2008 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Ben Hopkins explores the fine line between entrepreneurialism and illegality with this tale of a down on his luck man who makes the fateful decision to dabble in some shady double-dealing in a risky bid to better his lot in life. Mihram may have some problems with drinking and gambling, but that doesn't mean he's lost all ambition in life. He hopes to one day open his own business, and a recent proposal from a local doctor might just provide him with the financing to do so. Approached by the physician with a request that he uses the mobile phone company that employs him to help import some much-needed children's medicine, Mihram discerns that this charity mission may be a great opportunity to get rich quick. After making the decision to cross the border to Azerbaijan and purchase the medicine at an even cheaper cost, Mihram recruits his miserable Uncle Fazil to serve as his navigator, and the pair set out the journey that could make or break them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director of award-winning short films Ben Hopkins embarked on this ambitious feature project with Robert Jones, the producer of The Usual Suspects. The screenplay is inspired by Central European folklore, spaghetti Westerns and industrial history. But the film, which runs like a fable, has its roots in folktales rather than history. It is the end of the 19th century and progress has arrived in Silesia. Travelers do not stop at the town anymore because the railway track is laid past the small settlement. Incomes have dropped, and so has the number of inhabitants. Noah Taylor plays Simon, a 'holy fool' of sorts, persecuted by fellow villagers who hold him responsible for everything from the failure of the crops to the milk going sour. Simon, who resembles a scarecrow, lives in a hut outside the village. He earns his living emptying the sewers, existing on dry bread and the occasional herring or pickle given by the wife of a rabbi. He knows how to entertain the village children with his magic tricks and devilish masks. At the same time, he feels he actually is pursued by the devil, which makes him do all kinds of evil things, only increasing his isolation. There is also the poor but good-looking Jew, Dovid, who keeps proposing to the beautiful widow Leah, who rejects him. Dovid devises a plan to build the village economy, and in the process gain her affection. He pays a visit to the eccentric poet esquire and agrees to a business deal which entails the esquire allowing a new railway station to be built on his property in return for Dovid reading his newly published anthology. Unfortunately, Hase Sean McGinley, a wealthy Christian merchant with more money and little respect for the Jewish villagers, is also interested in the railway project. Simon Magus is the story of a village caught between two worlds -- the new industrial order and the old, rural world of tradition and superstition. The camera work of Nic Knowland is outstanding, as is the confident performance by Noah Taylor, the teenage David Helfgott of Shine. The rest of the cast is quite international as well -- Irishman Stuart Townsend as Dovid, the merchant; South African-born Embeth Davidtz as Leah, the widow and Dutch star Rutger Hauer cast against type as the gentle poet squire. Various subplots, however, often carry the story in directions which distracts audience attention. Simon Magus competed at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi