Vavien: A masterpiece in black comedy

In their third feature, directing duo Yağmur and Durul Taylan prove their authentic style in black comedy. Written by leading actor Engin Günaydın, ‘Vavien’ will move you with its subtle humor, beautiful dialogue and top-notch acting

The Taylan brothers, a directing duo that serves as Turkey’s answer to the Coen brothers, have been inching toward their masterpiece for the past five years. We have to wait and see if they will be able to surpass their recent gem, Vavien.

With Okul (School) in 2004 and Küçük Kıyamet (Little Apocalypse) in 2006, audiences saw the brothers’ natural talent for mind-play, even if it was not so subtle. In Vavien, they move confidently toward black comedy in a refined way.

Vavien is the story of a middle-class family in a small town in the Black Sea region. On the surface, it’s your typical Turkish family. The breadwinner, Celal (Engin Günaydın), goes about his business, trying desperately to find the next customer as the local electrician. Sevilay (Binnur Kaya) is the dutiful wife, clueless about the ups and downs of their marriage and life in general. Then there’s the neglected teenage son whose only concern is the teenage daughter next door, and the occasional masturbation.

Some innocent and not-so-innocent family secrets are revealed slowly in the first half. In a secret stash, Sevilay collects the euros sent from her father in Germany. Celal is well aware of the money and secretly uses it to spend in the sleazy night clubs in the neighboring city of Samsun. Celal hides his vast collection of porn, unaware that his son has been educating himself with his father’s movies. Around the same time Celal discovers his son’s knowledge of his collection in a not-so-pleasant way, he decides to get rid of his wife for good.

Celal’s plan seems simple yet effective. He takes his family, his brother and some family friends on a picnic on the outskirts of the neighboring mountains. On their way back, he makes sure that the back door of the car is automatically opened so that Sevilay will fall off a cliff. Sevilay disappears during a stormy night, and Celal takes the money from his wife’s secret hiding place. The second half of the movie unfolds in an unexpected series of events.

From the European side to Anatolia

The Turkish audience will recognize Engin Günaydın and Binnur Kaya from the popular TV series Avrupa Yakası (The European Side) in roles that are totally opposite from the ones that are usually associated with them. The script was written by Günaydın himself, and his interest in casting himself and Kaya in the leading roles raised a few eyebrows. Vavien, however, shows that Günaydın’s instincts were very right in showing the audience both actors’ ranges.

The script seems to be the perfect vehicle for directors Yağmur and Durul Taylan to showcase their craft for building suspense that they hinted at in their previous films. Vavien doesn’t include any immediate surprises or big confrontations. Instead, it builds a strong story without any sense of urgency, only to break everything down slowly and gracefully. The film brings to mind the films of the other directing duo, the Coens, especially Fargo.

The two supporting characters – Settar Tanrıöğen as Celal’s brother and Serra Yılmaz, a regular of Ferzan Özpetek movies, as the female parliamentarian – do wonders in altering the pace of the movie and move the story beautifully whenever they enter the scene. We learn that “vavien” is an electrician’s term to explain the layout for switching on the same light from different locations. Pay attention to the scene when Celal explains what “vavien” is to his wife and the parliamentarian. At first glance unimportant, the scene becomes a turning point for the series of events that will unfold. The scene is a lesson in writing and directing.

Black comedy was never a strong suit for Turkish cinema. Vavien and the Taylan Brothers are about to change that.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 26 Dec. 09

Zombieland: The dead finally return

Newcomer Ruben Flesicher’s inspiring road movie puts four odd characters into an SUV in a zombie-filled world. Amid the blood, gore and flesh-eating zombies, ‘Zombieland’ somehow manages to warm the heart.

With vampires and werewolves running rampant onscreen, it was time for a good old-fashioned zombie movie. Of course, Zombieland is not your average zombie movie, with the director (Ruben Fleischer) and two writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) being hip MTV alums.

Zombieland begins with a narration by an introverted nerd who tells the story of how the world came to an end when an unknown virus turned everyone into zombies, except the four main characters and the celebrity cameo.

The characters are known either by where they are from or where they are headed. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg from The Squid and the Whale) tells the audience his rules of survival in the United States of Zombieland, where being a recluse and outcast has helped him survive. He meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, reprising a more relaxed version of his role in Natural Born Killers) and the sisters Wichita (Emma Stone from Superbad) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine).

The mismatched quartet hits the road to reach an amusement park in Los Angeles. In Columbus’ words, everyone is an “orphan in Zombieland,” and the four turn into a dysfunctional family of their own as they head toward Hollywood. Trying to spot celebrity mansions, they befriend Bill Murray, in one of the funniest cameos in movie history. Set in a world filled with zombies, this bizarre road movie surprisingly warms the heart.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 25 Dec. 09

The week in movies - 25 December 09

In a bizarre week at the movies, zombies, chipmunks, jinns and weird couples’ counselors all hit the silver screen. Alvin and the Chipmunks reprise their roles in their second animated feature, in which they meet their female counterparts. Vince Vaughan and Jon Favreau reunite after a decade in the relationship comedy Couples Retreat. And Turkish horror director Hasan Karacadağ recreates the approaching apocalypse once again in D@bbe 2.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

The singing trio of chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore celebrate their 50th year in showbiz in this sequel to 2007’s CGI feature animation. In the new movie, the boys are forced to go back to school, and this time they are not under the care of their human father, Dave Seville, but Dave’s slacker nephew Toby (Zachary Levi from the TV show Chuck). The trio must perform to win the $25,000 school prize, only to find harsh competition in the form of an all-girl band, the Chipettes, a charming blend of Destiny’s Child and the Supremes. The Chipmunks find their love interests in the Chipettes, Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette (voiced by Anna Faris, Christina Applegate and Amy Poehler). Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney all reprise their roles.

Who should watch it? Those looking for a holiday movie they can bring their small children to.

Who should avoid it? Those with high expectations for animated features and the latest CGI movies, which usually have 3-D visuals and plenty of adult undertones.

Couples Retreat

Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau more-or-less reprise their roles in Swingers more than a decade later in this film, in which four couples go to an exotic locale that turns out to be a New Age couples retreat with obligatory counseling. Along with Vaughn and Favreau, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman and Kali Hawk star as the couples in retreat, while Jean Reno plays the world-famous “couples whisperer” Marcel. Mediocre directing overshadows the occasionally funny dialogue and impressive cast.

Who should watch it? Those who enjoyed Vaughn and Favreau’s Swingers.

Who should avoid it? Those expecting a smart and funny dissection of relationships by this promising all-star cast.

D@bbe 2

Turkish Director Hasan Karacadağ impressed horror aficionados with his crafty special effects and makeup, and clever use of Islamic themes, in his previous features, D@bbe (2006) and Semum (2008). In the sequel to D@bbe, Karacadağ again makes use of Islamic motifs to announce impending doom; jinns continue to use the Internet to communicate, and wait for signs of the apocalypse. Not necessarily a put-off, the previous two movies were rip-offs of the American films Pulse and The Exorcist, respectively.

Who should watch it? Those impressed with director Karacadağ’s previous horror flicks, especially D@bbe.

Who should avoid it? Those who have lost hope in Turkish cinema’s efforts to recreate the horror genre.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 25 Dec. 09

Amerikan televizyonunda Medeniyetler Çatışması

Medeniyetler Çatışması, Amerikan dizilerinin ana karakterlerini giderek daha renkli karakterlere dönüştürüyor. Bu sene televizyonda Müslüman eşcinseller, şişman zenciler ve kekeme Uzak Doğulular’ı izlemeye hazır olun.

Tombul bir zenci, kekeme bir Uzak Doğulu, tekerlekli sandalyede bir çocuk, süslü bir eşcinsel bir araya geldiklerinde ne olur? Şu anda Amerika’nın en popüler dizisi Glee’nin ana karakterlerini oluşturur ya da Kristin Chenoweth’in dediği gibi “dünyanın en kötü Benetton reklamı” olur.

11 Eylül sonrası tedirginlik-paranoya karışımıyla şekillenen Amerikan kültürünün, farklı etnik, cinsel kimlikleri bağrına basma misyonunu en sıkı dizilerden takip edebiliyoruz. Popüler Amerikan dizileri, bir süredir güzel, beyaz heteroseksüellerin baskınlığından kurtulmuş durumda.

Son birkaç yıldır hayatımıza giren dizilerin ana karakterlerine baktığımızda, önceleri iğreti bir şekilde, ‘hadi biraz bundan da ekleyelim’ şeklinde başlayan bu eğilimin giderek normalleşmeye başladığını görüyoruz. Ugly Betty, baş karakterini vasat görünümlü, kilolu Latin bir genç kız yapıp, aralarında eşcinsel bir ergen olan işçi sınıfı ailesinin hikayesini anlatıyor. Lost, İngilizce bilmeyen Koreli ve obez karakterleri; Heroes, sarsak Japonları; Grey’s Anatomy ise tombul lezbiyen ve kısa boylu zencileri ana karakterleri arasına koyuyor.

Yeni başlayan dizilerde ise azınlıkların öteki kimlikleri bir araya getirilerek, bir taşla birkaç kuş vuruluyor. Bu sene izleyeceğimiz dizilerde karşılaşacağımız karakterler arasında Müslüman bir eşcinsel, çekik gözlü bir İspanyolca hocası, Latin asıllı eşcinsel bir karakter, Orta Doğulu bir ‘redneck’ ve şişman bir vampir bulunuyor.

Birkaç yıl öncesine kadar kabul görmedikleri bir dünyada sağlam adımlarla ilerlemeye başlayan bu karakterleri kimlikleri ve Amerika’nın geldiği durumla rahatlıkla dalga geçerken görüyoruz artık. Etnik kimliğini çözemediğimiz, ama en azından beyaz olmadığını bildiğimiz bir adam hoşlandığı kadına evlenme teklifi ederken, “Endişelenme, azınlık olduğum için beni hayatım boyunca işten atamazlar,” diyor. Cnbc-e’de oynayan Aliens in America’nın Müslüman ortaokul öğrencisi Raja havaalanında namaz kılmaya kalktığı için, yanlarında kaldığı orta sınıf beyaz aileyle apar topar gözaltına alınıyor. Medeniyetler Çatışması, Amerika’nın azınlık oyuncularına yepyeni iş kapıları açmış gibi.

20 Aralık 09'da Akşam Pazar'da yayımlandı.

Christmas Eve, Santa and Nativity story on TV

We remember Christmas through our favorite TV shows, with Homer, Ross, Monica, Frasier and the Fisher family

Here comes some nostalgia with some of our favorite Christmas episodes from six TV shows, all part of TV history except for the Simpsons now in its 21^st season. Remember when Homer Simpson told a sermon of the Nativity story with his own twist or when Elaine found her own Baby Jesus in Ally McBeal? In other shows, Frasier punched Santa when he co-hosted the annual Christmas Parade with Dr. Mary, and Ross and Monica did their routine on TV for the New Year’s Eve. Read on for the Golden Girls’ Christmas night, and how we met the most dysfunctional family on Christmas Eve, the Fishers of Six Feet Under.

Ally McBeal – Blue Christmas

The bizarre episodes of Ally McBeal become even more bizarre with Christmas. However, one of the more heart-breaking episodes occurred when Elaine found a six-week-old baby under a Nativity scene manger. The episode has Ally and John Cage fighting in court to get Elaine custody of the child, while the lawyers (even Ling) in the office discover the mothers and fathers in themselves. The episode also features Ally and Renee betting on who will sing the more suggestive holiday song in the bar.

Frasier – Mary Christmas

Frasier’s childhood dream comes true when he is asked to co-host Seattle’s annual Christmas Parade with Kelly Kirkland. Trying to impress Kelly, Frasier invites her to a dinner at his apartment. An unexpected food poisoning causes Frasier co-host the parade with Dr. Mary to his utter disappointment. When Dr. Mary announces the approach of Santa, something Frasier wanted to ever since he was a child, he loses it and ends punching Santa on the nose.

Friends – The One with the Routine

Among so many classic Christmas episodes from Friends (including one where Ross tries to explain his son the Hanukah with an armadillo costume), this one stuck in our memories with a dance routine Ross and Monica put on in Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. While the Geller siblings embarrass themselves at the party, Chandler, Phoebe and Rachel try to uncover the Christmas presents Monica had bought them.

The Golden Girls – ‘Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas

This episode features the girls spending Christmas Eve together in Miami. Fed up with the financial burdens of Christmas, Dorothy suggests that each make their own gift to send one another. Rose’s wooden artifacts and Blanche’s racy calendars have Dorothy questioning her initially wise plan. Later, a snow blizzard delays their flights, causing the girls spend Christmas Eve in a diner listening to Blanche’s numerous sexual escapades from various Christmases of the past.

The Simpsons – Simpsons Christmas Stories

This three part Simpsons episode features an alternative take on the Nativity story, Grampa’s old relationship with Santa Claus, and a performance of the Nutcracker by the children of Springfield Elementary School. Homer gives a sermon on the first Christmas, with himself as Joseph, Marge as Mary, Bart as Baby Jesus, and Lisa as the angel Gabriel. The Christmas tree becomes the Hanukah bush in Homer’s version. We later find out how Grampa had a close encounter with Santa Claus on a deserted island in the Pacific during World War II and helped Santa rebuild his sleigh. In the final part, the residents of Springfield sing tunes from the Nutcracker as they go about their business, and Homer tries finding a Christmas present for Marge.

Six Feet Under – Pilot

We meet the Fisher family on a Christmas Eve with the death of patriarch Nathaniel Fisher. The Christmas dinner turns into something of a nightmare when the eldest son Nate comes home from Seattle, having just had sex in the airport, closeted gay son David bringing home his African-American boyfriend, and teenager Claire coming home stoned. A visit to both sons by the ghost of the father makes the Christmas dinner all the more unforgettable.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 18 Dec. 09

Gecenin Kanatları: Love, death and other unforgivable distractions

In a career spanning more than a decade, director Serdar Akar has given us everything from inspiring, to brutal, to commercial. Now, he adds yet another superlative to his filmography with the recent ‘Gecenin Kanatları’ (The Wings of the Night), tedious

When director Serdar Akar’s debut feature Gemide (On Board) was released more than a decade ago, both critics and audience felt the movie was a fresh breath of air in a period of decline for Turkish cinema. The intimate look into the world of men, complete with a slang-filled dialogue that actually sounded genuine, vowed many, and promised an inspiring young filmmaker for Turkish cinema. In the year 2000, came Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar (Offside, not be confused with another recent release, No Offsides), a modest movie featuring the legendary actress Müjde Ar that would establish Akar as a respected director.

In the last decade, however, Akar managed to confuse his followers and critics. He tried his craft in the occasional TV series, directed the mediocre movie adaptation of the hit TV series, Kurtlar Vadisi – Irak (Valley of the Wolves: Iraq), and in 2007, returned to the dark world of machismo with his violent Barda (In Bar), to relatively favorable reviews.

Kırmızıgül’s ‘films-to-do’

His latest, Gecenin Kanatları (The Wings of the Night), is yet another notch in Akar’s bizarre filmography. Before its release, many thought it was the latest in a line of box office hits from the pop singer-cum-filmmaker Mahsun Kırmızıgül, as the trailers blared the names of Kırmızıgül's previous two films. In reality, he was actually the co-writer of Gecenin Kanatları, with Ahmet Küçükkayalı.

The movie gives the feeling that it could very well have been directed by Kırmızıgül, with his trademark style as a filmmaker that mixes controversial social and national issues. His debut feature, Beyaz Melek (The White Angel), focused on the dire situation of senior citizens in Turkey, and touched here and there on Turkey’s problematic position with cultural diversity. His recent ground-breaking second feature, Güneşi Gördüm (I Saw the Sun), was a crafty blend of everything from state policies toward Kurdish citizens to migration and transgendered identities in Turkey.

Gecenin Kanatları plays like another movie on Kırmızıgül’s films-to-do list and is not even remotely reminiscent of the passionate style Akar displayed in either his earlier films or the recent Barda. In the film, Beren Saat, perhaps television's most popular actress at the moment, plays Gece (meaning Night, hence the name of the movie). Having seen both her parents executed in the aftermath of the 1980 coup, Gece channels her anger and revenge into becoming a devoted member of a leftist organization. She becomes a suicide bomber, only to fall for the professional athlete Yusuf (Murat Ünalmış), who lives next door.

Losing my connection

You know what to expect as Gece walks into a thin line between love and death. In Gecenin Kanatları, we’re supposed to be moved by the hard choice Gece has to make between Yusuf, with whom she's falling in love, and the deeply-rooted cause for which she's preparing to die. Sadly, the characters are never allowed to breathe and develop, leaving the audience unsatisfied as the drama unfolds on the screen.

As the movie delves into the terrorist organization, we are left to wonder what their cause is and for what they’re really willing to sacrifice their lives . The ambitious lines inserted into the mouths of the characters soon begin sounding like bad jokes, eventually turning Gece’s motives into nothing but bad jokes. After the first half hour, the viewer loses total connection with the characters. Even worse, the audience begins feeling that the actors have lost their connection as well.

The much-hyped sex scenes between Gece and Yusuf seem forced, and not even sexy, letting the audience lose the final sense of empathy for the love between the two. The movie feels rushed, incomplete, and very much like the plethora of mediocre TV series on Turkish channels. It's just there’s a plethora of them, and they are free.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 19 Dec. 09

The week in movies - 18 December 09

Get ready for the most anticipated movie of the year, Avatar, marking James Cameron’s return after 12 years. In other releases of the week, two films by Turkish female directors make their debut: İlksen Başarır’s unique love story, Başka Dilde Aşk (Love in Another Language) and Yeşim Sezgin’s romantic comedy, Süpürrr! (Sweep). The Turkish black comedy Vavien will please fans of the directing duo the Taylan Brothers, while Acı Aşk (Love, Bitter) is the weakest of this week’s releases.

Acı Aşk / Love, Bitter

Similar to last week’s release of novelist-cum-filmmaker Tuna Kiremitçi’s Adını Sen Koy (You Name It), this film portrays another love triangle of the upper-middle class and is set in Eskişehir. The story of Acı Aşk moves from Eskişehir to Istanbul, and the love triangle becomes a love quadrangle with the leading man Orhan (Halit Ergenç) finding out the price of playing the field with three women. The film stars Songül Öden, Ezgi Asaroğlu and the beautiful but annoying Cansu Dere. Newcomer A. Taner Elhan directs, while director/writer (of Polis/Police) Onur Ünlü writes the script. Heralded with the tag line “What’s the most you can do for love?” the trailer promises lame a dialog.

Who should watch it? Those who get a kick out of cardboard characters and far-from-subtle cliché romances as found in a recent avalanche of Turkish TV series.

Who should avoid it? Those who cringe when hearing over-the-top lines like, “I’m asking the biggest of all questions. How far are you willing to come with me?” (The answer, of course, is “Until death.”)

Avatar

The most-anticipated film of the month – and, for some, the most-anticipated film of 2009 – comes to theaters this week everywhere around the globe. James Cameron – King of the World back in 1998 with the epic Titanic – returns to form following an absence from feature movies for 12 years. The trailers and the story don’t explain much of what we’re about to watch in movie theaters. Ex-Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) goes on an expedition to find the next energy resource on the distant moon of Pandora. Sully’s DNA is unique in bonding with the alien hybrid body, the Avatar. As he infiltrates the natives of Pandora, the Na’vi, Sully finds himself falling for a native girl, Neytiri. One of the few who had the chance to watch the pre-screening, Time magazine’s Richard Corliss sums up his experience as “the most vivid and convincing creation of a fantasy world ever seen in the history of moving pictures.”

Who should watch it? Everyone who has a remote interest in movies.

Who should avoid it? Those who are averse to fantasy worlds in movies.

Başka Dilde Aşk / Love in Another Language

Newcomer Turkish director İlksen Başarır’s unique take on a love story wowed the audience and critics in the recent Golden Oranges and Bursa’s Silk Road Film Festival. Mert Fırat (he’s also the co-writer with Başarır) stars as Onur, a young deaf man who finds himself in a sweeping romance with Zeynep (Saadet Işıl Aksoy of Yumurta/Egg and Süt/Milk), a woman working in a call center. Fırat’s performance, the chemistry between the leading actors and Hayk Kirakosyan’s cinematography were among the highlights from critics. The film features veteran actress Lale Mansur as Onur’s protective mother.

Who should watch it? Those who do not want to miss the occasional Turkish film by a female director or miss an honest love story among the multitude of pretentious ones.

Who should avoid it? Those who do not want to take a risk on another love story from a Turkish director.

Süpürrr! / Sweep

One of two debut movies released this week by a Turkish female director comes in the form of a romantic comedy/sports comedy. Boy meets girl, boy wants to marry girl, girl’s father has a weird obsession to marry his daughter to a national athlete, boy begins mastering the unheard sport of curling. Director Yeşim Sezgin’s quest of training the cast to master curling and building a curling rink for the first time in Turkey made headlines during filming. Cem Kılıç plays the naïve and lovestruck Oğuz, and Başak Parlak plays the girl who has the power to kick start a curling team in Turkey.

Who should watch it? Those who enjoy sports comedies and those who want to learn what the heck curling is.

Who should avoid it? Those who have their plates full with a string of mediocre romantic comedies from Turkish cinema.

Vavien

Turkey’s answer to Wachowski or the Coen Brothers, the Taylan Brothers return to screen with their third feature. Written by actor Engin Günaydın, the movie stars Günaydın and Binnur Kaya, back together after the popular TV series Avrupa Yakası (The European Side). The two go against-the-trend in this black comedy about the fall of a family. Günaydın plays Celal, a man who tries finding ways of escape from his drab existence through frequenting sleazy night clubs. His wife Sevilay, meanwhile, accumulates money her father has been sending to her secretly. Things go awry when Celal finds out about the money and decides to get rid of his wife for good.

Who should watch it? Those who were impressed with the Taylan Brothers’ previous feature Küçük Kıyamet (The Little Apocalypse) of 2006.

Who should avoid it? Those who are not ready to see the Günaydın-Kaya duo in totally different roles than the one associated with them in the hit series, Avrupa Yakası.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 18 Dec. 09