Çağan Irmak might just be the epitome of the ideal filmmaker. The prolific Turkish director knows how to tell a good story. And he loves telling those stories. He takes risks, he is highly imaginative and he never repeats himself. Each of his features is different than the previous. This might hinder his chances of being an auteur, but it definitely makes him one of the best Turkish filmmakers of our age.
You will most likely hear his latest feature, Prensesin Uykusu (The Sleeping Princess) labeled as “a modern fairy tale.” Any new film, book or work of art with some edge can very well be called a modern fairy tale. What Irmak skillfully manages to do is let his imagination loose while being simultaneously realistic and over-the-top along the way.
Somewhere along his career, Irmak has become the voice of the fallen modern man. Prensesin Uykusu introduces yet another lonely man as the film’s protagonist. One of the most optimistic, most hopeful characters to come to screen, Çağlar Çorumlu’s Aziz lights up the screen from the very first scenes. Riding on a bus every day to go from his apartment to the library he’s working in, he sometimes makes the people around him apprehensive with the big smile plastered over his face.
