The week in movies - 4 December


Abimm / My Brother

This Turkish family drama comes from experienced TV director Şafak Bal and TV writer İlkay Akdağlı, both originally from Ankara. Çetin (Mustafa Üstündağ) and his long-lost mentally disabled brother Arif (Levent Üzümcü) embark on a journey from Istanbul to the coastal town of Marmaris, where they discover what it means to be a family. Selen Seyven and Haldun Boysan also star in the film promoted as a unique blend of comedy, drama, and action.

Who should watch it? Those who have enjoyed the recent line of popular family dramas form Turkish cinema.

Who should avoid it? Those who are wary of trying yet another film from a Turkish newcomer, only leave the movie theater in disappointment.


Adını Sen Koy / You Name It

Both adored and sneered by many, big-name Tuna Kiremitçi tries his hand at writing and directing a feature film. Poet, novelist, columnist, and composer Kiremitçi delves into familiar territory from his novels, urban relationships. Melis Birkan stars in yet another love story following last year’s box office favorite, Issız Adam (Alone). Cemal Toktaş from Güneşi Gördüm (I Saw the Sun), and Ali İl, making his move from TV to cinema, star as best friends who face turbulent times over a woman.

Who should watch it? Those who have enjoyed Tuna Kiremitçi’s novels and his romantic take on urban relationships.

Who should avoid it? Those who have found Kiremitçi’s novels a little too soppy for their taste, and those who feel he’s one of the most over-exposed names in Turkey.


I Skoni Tou Hronou / The Dust of Time

Revered Greek director Theo Angelopoulos follows the past and present of an American director of Greek descent, portrayed by Willem Dafoe, as he shoots a film about his parents in Rome and his daughter goes missing in Berlin. The narrative spans half a century in as diverse places as Rome, Berlin, Tashkent, Siberia and the United States. The film, starring Bruno Ganz, Michel Piccoli, and Irene Jacob as well, is the second in Angelopoulos’ trilogy that began with The Weeping Meadow of 2004.

Who should watch it? Those who see Angelopoulos’s cinema among the best with its stunning cinematography and poetic storytelling.

Who should avoid it? Those who like their movies with straightforward, linear narrative, and those who refrain from self-indulgent cinema.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News City Brief on 4 Dec. 09

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