Eskiya (1996)

Directed by Yavuz Turgul Writing credits Yavuz Turgul

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful:-
The Rebirth of Turkish Cinema, 13 March 2001
Author: Ekin Pandir from Singapore

The 'rebirth' of Turkish cinema is rejoiced with perhaps one of the finest movies to ever appear in Turkey. It appears the sudden pause of the Turkish cinema due to the lacking quality against the western movie market has resumed, transforming yesilcam and its unique and familiar style into something that is more recognizable by the 'new generation'. Movies like Kahbe Bizans, Abuzer Kadayif, Eskiya, and TV series like Ikinci Bahar and Yilan Hikayesi are some of the finest examples of this. Yet these are far more than simple replications of the western styles, these contain an element of the Turkish culture and people that we are so used to seeing. This is the essence of the brilliance beneath Eskiya. The way it accurately reflects our troubles and the way we deal with them.

Beginning with the first scene, we become aware of the how incredibly well written the script is and the realism and truthfulness beneath the characters. This realism in fact is drawn to such a scale that at no poin t in the movie, do we feel anger at any character, or identify one as evil; merely the victims of the horrible system in which we live in, and the incidents we read in the papers everyday. While national problems such as migration, organized crime, and poverty are all central themes to the movie, so are human emotions like betrayal and revenge. Even the bizarre ending filled with numerous deaths appears very natural.

The acting also is quite remarkable. Sener Sen, being a great actor, portrays Baran superbly, while Ugur Yucel with his unquestionable talent does his part and every other role is cast with incredible thought and consideration. The climax I thought shows this the best, Sener Sens monologue on the rooftop scene had tears coming out of my eyes.

Overall, it would be very unjust to say that this is the greatest Turkish movie to be ever filmed because, being a kid of the new generation, I would simply be completely blocking out 50+ years of yesilcam. However with it's great script, the warmth we feel towards the characters, and the amazing performances by the actors, this is one of the best and it most certainly is a symbol of the rebirth of Turkish cinema. If you are Turkish and haven't seen or heard about this movie, you probably slept through the last 5 years go see it now! And if you're not Turkish, you should still see it. I recommend it to anyone.

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