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morningsider
Reviews
Büyük Adam Küçük Ask (2001)
radical for turkey
I think this movie deserves a lot more credit once viewed within the context of modern turkey. without this context, the movie may seem like your run of the mill gruff-old-man-meets-cute-little-girl-and-sheds-rough-exterior story yet there is much more to it than that. i thought it was a very welcome move that the movie not only took a stab at police brutality and political persecution in turkey (which are everyday realities), it also challenged the standard, "progressive", ataturkist line about a homogenous nation (one nation/one language, etc). it was very touching to see the subtle transition that this man of principles experienced in coming to terms with the brutal reality of eastern turkey. the acting was also quite natural -- the vulnerability that the little girl displayed was superb.
Günese Yolculuk (1999)
a tender treatment of a heady subject matter
yesim ustaoglu's crafted a beautiful, touching film that deals with the heady (and taboo) subject of turkish oppression of the kurds. without resorting to sentimentality or polemic, she's created tender characters who are not mere stand-ins for a political idea. mehmet's gradual realization of the kurdish reality in his own country starts out with his own stint in the police station (when he gets taken for a kurd because of his dark looks) and ends with an actual journey to the eastern part of the country where he witnesses firsthand the devastation that the government's "undeclared" war has wrought on the largely kurdish peasant population. the film is beautifully shot and despite its heavy subject matter, it is a joy to watch the largely unprofessional cast against the bustling cityscape of istanbul, and the plain beauty of the barren hills of southeastern anatolia.