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TIFF 2013 Review - Thou Gild'st the Even

Rating:
12A
Release Date:
8th, 10th & 13th September 2013 (TIFF)
Director:
Onur Ünlü
Cast:
Derya Alabora, Ali Atay, Tansu Biçer

Undoubtedly one of the most bizarre features at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival is Turkish oddball drama Thou Gild’st the Even: a film that may strain the patience of some viewers but captivate others with its casual absurdity.

Onur Unlu’s film explores sorrow, hope, and the insanity of human nature through the life of a bored and depressed barber shop worker in a small Turkish town with two suns and three full moons. The people there have inherited extraordinary abilities. Cemal (Ali Atay) wanders through life despondent and unfulfilled whilst surrounded by an invisible teacher, an immortal doctor, and a beautiful girl who can stop time with a clap of her hands.

Beautifully shot in black and white with a kind of nonchalant regard for its weird moments, Onur Unlu’s film is startling in its lack of pretention, events just occur and no particular weight is put on them. The film would make a dull little study into the mind of a loner if it were not for its touches of surrealism which lace the feature like finely warped filigree. This doesn’t just apply to the characters and their behaviours but the bizarre scenes that spring up around them: the pill-fuelled flight, the brazen assassination in the night, a disturbed serenade totally lacking in romantic endeavour, all these fall awkwardly into place like some ill-constructed child’s toy. However Unlu eventually pulls off a successful illustration of life in all its nuts and sometimes heart-breaking entirety.

When the film starts to strain patience with its casual non-committal kind of narrative, it draws the viewer in by presenting yet another strange character whose bizarre ability has taught them some life lesson they can impart to a man truly lost in his own mundane existence. Excellent casting, beautiful scoring, and a fine eye for humour in a black and white world, definitely ease the passing of this often slow venture.

That’s the key to the film’s success: under the humour and weirdness there’s a story about a man’s life being told, a man who- for all intents and purposes- is totally ordinary besides his strange power. It’s a small town romance, a love story that documents jealousy and passion, family and friends, relationships and ultimately regret. Though time and again it finds such weird ways of relaying such everyday situations, the message will often pass by, only to be picked up later.

Though intriguing Thou Gildst the Even is at many points tiresome and not an easy pill to swallow. However, maybe a little alienation is obligatory as part of an absurdist drama with a Twin Peaks kind of logic to it. For a film lacking in true drama, there’s a lot of heart and poignancy to this truly strange and comical vignette into extraordinary lives.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

Verve Picture Bringing Home (Yurt) 'Home' June on DVD

Verve Pictures have announced  the UK DVD Release of  HOME (Yurt), winner of  The Golden Wings Digital Digiturk Distribution Award at the recent London Turkish Film Festival.

The first feature to be written and directed by actor Muzaffer Özdemir, best known for his roles in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's THE SMALL TOWN, CLOUDS OF MAY and DISTANT, for which he won the Cannes Best Actor Award, HOME (Yurt) is a beautifully composed meditation on memories and a changing world. Doğan, a pessimistic and neurotic architect, longing for his homeland, revisits the countryside of his childhood for the first time in many years. His search for the familiar, however, is an elusive one and in this modern technological age he quickly discovers that time which once stood still is now fleeting, and that the tranquillity of familiar landscapes is fading.

Poetic and resonant, HOME (Yurt) is a serene depiction of one man's journey to find his own sense of peace amidst the conflict between nature and the ever intrusive modern age.

Home(Yurt) stars

Pre-order/Buy:Home (Yurt) On DVD 

Trailer For Turkish Period Drama Eve Donus: Sarikamis 1915

Trailer For Turkish Action Flick KAOS (Örümcek Ağı)

DVD Review: Five Minarets In New York

Reviewer: Paul Devine
Rated: 15 (UK)
Release Date:7th November, 2011(UK)
Director: Mahsun Kirmizigül
Cast:Mahsun Kirmizigül, Haluk Bilginer, Danny Glover, Gina Gershon, Robert Patrick

Been religious can be the most enlighting experience a person can feel bringing solace to a troubled person's life. No matter if you have a faith or not, everyone has the right to practice a religion without prejudice but sadly recent events nationally and internationally have brought paranoia among people and in Five Minarets In New York it's paranoia and prejudice towards Islam that is the basis of the film.

Split between Turkey and New York two Turkish anti terrorist cops sent to New York to collect Hadji Gumas (Haluk Bilginer) who has fled to USA with his wife (Gina Gershon) and daughter. Both are shocked at Hadji's suddent arrest as well as clueless to why he's arrested. As our 2 agents escort Hadji or Dajjal (Antichrist) as the Turkish police nickname him back to the airport they find their convoy comes under attack and Hadji is freed thanks to family friend Marcus (Danny Glover) who fears his friend will not face a fair trial back home. Our Agents find themselves held by Marcus and as time goes by they spend time with Hadji learning that he might not be as guilty as they believe he is.

Five Minarets In New York is the perfect example of don't judge a film by its DVD cover as you'll be severely disappointed. When you the actor who  kicked ass with Predators (Glover) and a Terminator (Patrick) you will be expecting some form of quality but in this film don't expect really any. Despite the promising opening  which felt like a level from a Call Of Duty video game (only to be ruined by some poor cheap looking explosive CGI), the scene builds a high level expectancy of a fast paced action packed thriller but what we get instead was a poor man's 24 episode. The film lacks a villain figure but the true villian of this film is bad half hearted script which gets spoiled by sappy melodramatics, lacking in depth this feels all together a very uninteresting , missing the whole point of the film exploring prejudice and America's relations with Muslim countries post 9/11.

On a positive note Five Minarets In New York did show the power of faith in religion and how it could change someone's life especially one of a criminal in the shape of Marcus (Glover) who becomes a peaceful man from a gang member thanks to Hadji. The film also highlights that sectarianism does exist outside Western religion as Hadji is married to a Catholic woman one of the reason we learn why he fled Turkey. As for the acting majority I would refer to as cardboard, one dimensional however the one positive in acting was one of the negative characters played by Robert Patrick who plays the all American red neck right wing racist who hates anything Islamic even his fellow Americans who are  Muslim. Any recommendations for Five Minarets of New York? Yes don't waste your money on this one!

Rating: 1.5/5

CANNES 2011: Nuri Bilge Ceylan's ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA

Teaser for Turkish Big Bother inspired thriller EV

source QuietEarth
Last year we had Deadset  UK's homage to Big Brother with zombies waiting for the contestants when they finish, a few days ago we got another spin on the Big Brother with the Coatian The Show Must Go On. And now the Turks have got in on the game with EV when a simliar type of Big Brother type show is stopped dramtically when a gunman takes the contestants hostage creating a reality hell!!!

Wow! Even though I'm glad of not having to put up with Big Brother no more its actually great we are seeing different movies/tv dramas based of the show which actually spin off the idea of how pathetic but how true to life of Big Brother is watching you.

EV is actually the name of the famous Turkish national television channel the fictional show is based on and this movie comes from the brothers Alper & Caner Özyurtlu in their directoral debut and at the looks of QuietEarth post these brothers are highly thought of in Turkey and going with what we see from the teaser Im not surprised.

Below is an trailer with English subtitles and you wont have to wait long to see this if your from Turkey as its released nationwide on February 26th.