As a Turkish viewer residing in the United Kingdom, promising word of mouth/reviews of Turkish films are always a delight for me to hear. After much hype and recommendation of Babam ve Oglum, I was pretty anxious to watch it.
Babam ve Oglum deals with Father/Son relationships and is charged with story-values of Life/Death. The relationship and chemistry between Huseyin, Sadik and Deniz are not only believable but poignant. It is by far the strongest point of the film, and if I were to review this film on this aspect alone, I would have given it a 9/10. Unfortunately, the script and some misdirection provide crucial mistakes, with the former underpinning the films over melancholia.
Despite the credible relationships and fantastic performances from the lead fathers and sons, the script implements cliché and melancholic Acts that stray from believability and feel a tad forceful to elicit an emotional response from it's audience. It's partly reminiscent of the old Hülya Koçyiğit, Turkan Soray type Turkish films. Whilst paying homage to old films is one thing, I felt this film unintentionally did that with some conventional, dated storytelling. I believe Turkish Cinema is currently evolving with directors such as Nuri Bile Ceylan, but conventions used in this movie is a step backwards.
In terms of it's direction, it's got a nice classical feel which complements its Arch-Plot themes and even delivers absolute movie magic. The scene where Tarik has his first meal with his family coalesceds humour and drama in an accurate fashion. The scene of Sadik and Tarik's first night at their new home, is an undeniably sad moment. However, what contradicts these realistic, subtle scenes are Anti-plot elements such as the convenient collapse of Sadik at that very moment, or the hammy scene of when Huseyin demonstrated how he could have stopped Sadik from leaving before. Exposition is one thing, but be overly visual breaks the films realistic aspect, which is what worked in the first place.
That is not to say the film cannot implement experimental features, the resolution of the boy confronting the notion that he has to deal with moving on without his father at the end, was a touching moment of the loss of a father.
Overall, Babam ve Oglum is a good film but misses out on being a great film due to over-sentiments and melancholia. Had it maintained balance and stuck with a realistic/subtle direction, it would have been a fantastic film.
Babam ve Oglum deals with Father/Son relationships and is charged with story-values of Life/Death. The relationship and chemistry between Huseyin, Sadik and Deniz are not only believable but poignant. It is by far the strongest point of the film, and if I were to review this film on this aspect alone, I would have given it a 9/10. Unfortunately, the script and some misdirection provide crucial mistakes, with the former underpinning the films over melancholia.
Despite the credible relationships and fantastic performances from the lead fathers and sons, the script implements cliché and melancholic Acts that stray from believability and feel a tad forceful to elicit an emotional response from it's audience. It's partly reminiscent of the old Hülya Koçyiğit, Turkan Soray type Turkish films. Whilst paying homage to old films is one thing, I felt this film unintentionally did that with some conventional, dated storytelling. I believe Turkish Cinema is currently evolving with directors such as Nuri Bile Ceylan, but conventions used in this movie is a step backwards.
In terms of it's direction, it's got a nice classical feel which complements its Arch-Plot themes and even delivers absolute movie magic. The scene where Tarik has his first meal with his family coalesceds humour and drama in an accurate fashion. The scene of Sadik and Tarik's first night at their new home, is an undeniably sad moment. However, what contradicts these realistic, subtle scenes are Anti-plot elements such as the convenient collapse of Sadik at that very moment, or the hammy scene of when Huseyin demonstrated how he could have stopped Sadik from leaving before. Exposition is one thing, but be overly visual breaks the films realistic aspect, which is what worked in the first place.
That is not to say the film cannot implement experimental features, the resolution of the boy confronting the notion that he has to deal with moving on without his father at the end, was a touching moment of the loss of a father.
Overall, Babam ve Oglum is a good film but misses out on being a great film due to over-sentiments and melancholia. Had it maintained balance and stuck with a realistic/subtle direction, it would have been a fantastic film.