Change Your Image
coolbluesound
Reviews
Dondurmam Gaymak (2006)
Unbearably Bad
I walk out of very few movie screenings and this movie managed to become one of those that I couldn't bear to watch any longer. As far as the awards it won goes, the ones awarded by Turkish festivals are not credible in my opinion. My only explanation for the Queens festival award was to think that somehow a layer of comedy was "gained in translation" as the subtitles helped distract attention from the horrendous performances.
At the beginning of the screening I attended, the presenter briefly talked about the history of Turkish cinema and at one point mentioned that early Turkish cinema was appropriately named "stage cinema" since many of the filmmakers and actors involved were people from the theater scene.
Ironically, this movie falls right into that category. English speakers reading subtitles may think that Turkish is a naturally loud language and attribute all the yelling in the movie to that, but observant native commentators will immediately notice that all the actors are performing with exaggerated loud voices. You could attribute this to the amateur nature of all actors, but the biggest source of "yelled-out-dialog" is the main character, played by the only professional actor in the movie. Not surprisingly his background is in theater. My guess is that in response to his loud delivery of lines, all other amateur actors raised their voices as well, hence turning the whole movie into a series of unnatural performances.
Put on top of all of this a storyline that develops at a snail's pace, you get an extremely boring movie.
I have to say I also have a personal problem with Turkish movies that depict entirely rural life with shallow uneducated characters. Ever since "Zugurt Aga", one of the best Turkish movies ever made, Turkish filmmakers seem to be not able to avoid the appeal of the rural part of the country. This is only interesting in small doses and if it is as beautifully orchestrated with excellent writing and directing as in Zugurt Aga. Most often, however, it is extremely boring and frankly somewhat embarrassing to native "urban" Turks. Rural communities make up a neglected, undereducated part of the country, and while this provides good material for comedy, it comes at a huge cost to Turkey's image.
A western audience member whose only exposure to Turkey is this movie will undoubtedly think that Turkey is like Afghanistan. I wish filmmakers would realize this and let go of their passion for the stories of the "rural man" and stay loyal to the majority of the country, who live in cities that put metropolitan areas in Europe to shame.
Apocalypto (2006)
Mel Gibson's Bigotry Reaches Back in Time
Despite horrible directing in jungle scenes (which are about 80% of the movie), the story of this movie could have made it OK... If it wasn't for Mel Gibson's self-righteous point in his story, highlighted by the quote in the beginning by Durant: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." Here, the subtle argument that may have been unnoticed by the oblivious audience is that the Mayan civilization's demise was brought on by their wicked pagan ways and their lack of human values.
What Mel Gibson does not care to mention in the movie, however, is that whatever violence (and "evil" if you're into that sort of categorization) had common place in Mayan or any other native civilization, was completely outdone in multiples by Christian European colonists, who spared nobody in what might have been the biggest massacre that the world has ever seen, improperly labeled as "The Conquest".
What is next I wonder? Is he going to claim that the Jews had it coming in the Holocaust because of their "wickedness"? I'm giving this a 4 because of the performances and the talent that went into it, despite its horribly wrong message but I think anybody in their right mind should do better than I did and not financially support the rantings of a fundamentalist bigot.
Balans ve Manevra (2005)
Great Performances Across the Board
Balans ve Manevra is a great movie about a group of people living in one of the most beautiful Aegian coast towns who, despite the serenity and the beauty of the place, just can't seem to find the "balance" that they all so desperately need in their lives no matter what "maneuver" they make. The low ratings and bad reviews are mainly due to the fact that this is not a movie that appeals to the common audience. It has a slow pace that focuses on character development instead of the story, because the characters are the story in the film and the performances across the board are simply amazing. Having seen many Turkish films in the recent recovery of the Turkish movie industry, I think I can easily say that this one has the best acting among them. Also the subtitles on the DVD are excellently translated for an English-speaking audience. I know that sounds trivial but so many Turkish movies screw this up that I think it is worth mentioning. The directing is not phenomenal and is a bit inconsistent throughout, but some scenes are really promising about Teoman's future as a filmmaker. I'm personally excited about his debut and I hope he develops and establishes his own style. He certainly did a great job of assembling an amazing cast.
Troy (2004)
Troy is a cheesy action movie with a few good battle scenes that entirely misrepresents the most important messages of Illiad.
As a stand-alone movie, Troy deserves at least a few points for its battle scenes and the excellent acting. But the horrible screen writing and the treacherous interpretation of Homer's Illiad makes this movie merely a mediocre action flick that fails to capture any of the greatness of the work it has been inspired by.
Now I've read comments here from grad students and professors who liked or disliked it. People have brought up issues of historical accuracy and some rightly argued back that one cannot look for historical accuracy in an epic poem. But so far all the comments seem to have missed the one important thing about the Illiad: It's status among the people of ancient Greece.
Homer's Illiad was never meant to be an accurate historical account but was accepted in ancient Greece as an educational piece on some of the most fundamental elements of human existence. And it fulfilled the requirements for such a work by containing an immense amount of morals and messages. Greek thinkers, artists and poets often referred to the Illiad, were inspired highly by it and quoted it religiously. This was their "holy bible" in a sense that they kept coming back to it for inspiration and advice. Which is why I believe any work that claims to be "based on" the Illiad should try to capture or at least not alter its core messages.
Shortening the story, skipping scenes, wrapping things up a little are all fine and needed for a successful screenplay. But not if these alterations completely alter the messages contained within, in some cases to a completely opposite direction.
The story of a Paris who betrays his nation for his love and survives to become prince conveys a different message than the story of a Paris who wins the world's most beautiful woman because of his fondness of Aphrodite (=Beauty) and in turn brings death and destruction to not only his city but also to himself. The story of a Hector who knows his family is going to run away into safety before the fall of Troy before he goes to battle does not say as much about war as the story of a Hector who knows his son will be thrown off from the city walls onto the tip of a spear if he loses his fight.
Homer's Illiad contains a lesson in morality in every verse. And Troy misses all of that because its writers lack the vision and the courage to explore and reflect Homer's wisdom despite its contradictions with popular action-movie-audience expectations.
Collateral (2004)
Excellent movie, here is why (AND why NOT for some folks)
I'll try to keep this W/O spoilers... so here we go:
Collateral is an excellent movie, by far the most glamorous movie event of the season, and delivers exactly what it promises if you know what to expect before you walk into the theater.
First let me tell you that you wouldn't like this movie (hence a lot of the negative reviews here) if you:
a. are a Tarantino-style sarcastic action fan b. think mood-setting scenes with visuals and music and without dialogue are unnecessary and would rather have heart-pumping non-stop action and head ached-inducing never ending dialogue c. are one of those people that look for realism in every tiny bit of the plot, and are easily turned off by coincidences and symbolism
If you fall into any of these categories above, skip this one. If you're willing to experiment and see something different... read on.
Collateral has an amazing concept, but we all know it because we have seen the trailer. Besides that the script brings us some very clever and in-depth characters and lots of dialogue about life and work and people that you can actually take something out of. The script at many points fails the viewer who is desperately in need of realism but character development and actor performance is so good that you can easily ignore and even enjoy the surrealism as you get lost in the engaging characters and their dramatic motivations and passion for what they do.
But the movie really shines with amazing cinematography and daring experimentation by Michael Mann. The man, who has mastered the thrill of a gunfight, does not fail to combine (yet again) stunning visuals and chillingly realistic sound to deliver to you the feeling closest to being in the proximity of an actual gunfire exchange without risking your life in one.
He also uses a digital (HD) camera, throughout most of the movie, hand-held at key points to put the audience right there next to the characters. This combined with clever use of shutter speeds and lighting creates this really amazing capture of motion and the LA night scape that you cannot find in any other movie made at the time of this comment.
So if you are willing to take the ride with Mann in his experimentation to create a completely new experience of the night and its players, this movie is definitely far worth your money and time.
The audiophile out there will also enjoy a soundtrack with a huge spectrum (from Jazz to Techno..) and the bass-breaking dance track by Oakenfold will definitely fill the hearts of the trance/dance audience with some sweet musical satisfaction.
Enjoy..