This film is beautifully structured with a plot that seems very complex at the beginning and simplifies as you move into the story. Like many of the Grimms' Fairy Tales which are referenced as the story unfolds, it has a dark aspect. The seedy side of life in contemporary Istanbul is presented through several interweaving stories with more than a hint of violence, a potion of deep selfishness and a charm of great kindness. There are musicians whose music produces magic, enchanted castles, sleeping princesses, unfaithful princesses and a truly malevolent wicked step-mother. There is even a dwarf with seven brothers. How do you draw to a close in a film where the dark side seems, perhaps, to be in the ascendant? Well, watch closely. There is one event that shows how the story, apparently so fixed, will come to a different ending. It could easily be missed. There is not a moment in this film where your attention wanders or the magic wanes, for the magic is not anything of the supernatural, but is the enchantment of human life, in the Great Whore of Istanbul. This is not a film of great acting and I suspect only a few of the cast were professional actors - but it is nevertheless made up of compelling moments that flow effortlessly into each other. See it; enjoy it.
Review of Anlat Istanbul
