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 ABUZER
BAKLAVA (15)
(Abuzer
Kadayif)
Turkey 2000 / 90m / English subtitles
Director: Tunç Basaran
Cast: Metin Akpinar, Talat Bulut, Sibel Turnagöl
When sociology
professor Ersin Balkan’s wife is murdered by street kids,
he decides to build a facility for the education and rehabilitation
of such kids. In order to raise the money, he decides to conceal
his identity and become a famous folksinger, Abuzer Baklava.
The only one who knows the truth is Abdu, a failed folk singer
from Ersin’s home town, who also serves as his manager.
Soon political parties try to draw Abuzer to their side, and
the mafia want a slice of the action. A funny and fast-paced
movie exploring the relations between mafia, media and politics.
 AWAY
FROM HOME (15)
(Herkes
Kendi Evinde)
Turkey 2001 / 110m / English subtitles
Director: Semih Kaplanoglu
Cast: Erol Keskin, Tolga Çevik, Anna Bielska
As Nasuhi
returns to the homeland he left behind years ago, his young
nephew Selim is heading out to a new life. Olga, a Russian
girl who has run away from home to search for her estranged
father in Istanbul, learns that he has moved on to Sydney.
While trying to raise the money to go to Australia, she gets
into trouble. Together these three characters leave for the
Aegean town that Nasuhi had abandoned 50 years ago. Selim
has to make a decision either to sell his inheritance in Turkey,
or leave them to Nasuhi, who needs to find his roots.
 COMMISSAR
SHAKESPEARE (15)
(Komiser
Sekspir)
Turkey 2000 / 115m / English subtitles
Director: Sinan Çetin
Cast: Kadir Inanir, Müjde Ar, Okan Bayülgen
Commissar
Cemil, a tough police officer, learns that his only daughter
has a terminal illness. Realising that the idea of playing
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the only thing that’s
keeping her going, he sets up a theatre in his police station.
He commences rehearsals with the current occupants –
a prostitute, glue-sniffer, mobster and political prisoner
– and some street children from the theatre troupe. Now,
Cemil will either enter the TV competition that his daughter
wants so desperately to win and risk losing his job. Or, he
will fail to fulfil his daughter’s last wishes.
 A
FINE DAY (15)
Germany
2000 / 74m / English subtitles
Director: Thomas Arslan
Cast: Serpil Turhan, Bilge Bingül, Florian Stetter, Selda
Kaya, Hafize Üner.
The final
part of Thomas Arslan’s acclaimed Berlin trilogy (after
BROTHERS AND SISTERS and DEALER) centres on the kind of woman
you rarely find in films: one who has absolutely no interest
in conforming to stereotypes but wants to find her own way.
Deniz, a 21-year-old Berliner of Turkish origin, is working
as a dubbing actress on Eric Rohmer’s CONTE D’ÉTÉ.
Outwardly dynamic and inwardly restless, her various encounters
with others help her to reflect on what she is looking for.
A FINE DAY is beautifully served by Arslan’s sensitive
approach: his immense respect for his characters and for the
dynamics of their Berlin environment.
 HOUSE
OF ANGELS (15)
(Melekler
Evi)
Turkey 2000 / 109m / English subtitles
Director: Ömer Kavur
Cast: Talat Bulut, Hande Ataizi, Aytaç Arman
Ahmet,
a former war reporter, visits Urfa to photograph deserted
houses and stays with his old friend Ibrahim. The next day
he witnesses a murder, which upsets his plans and transforms
his life into a nightmare. Ibrahim mysteriously disappears
and the police arrest Ahmet. Meanwhile gunmen are after him.
In the midst of all this, he encounters Arzuhan, a young woman
searching for the truth about the murders. In a race between
love and death, Ahmet enters a merciless world of labyrinthine
darkness, but refuses to abandon his search for the truth.
 OFFSIDE
(15)
(Dar Alanda
Kisa Paslasmalar)
Turkey 2000 / 120m / English subtitles
Director: Serdar Akar
Cast: Müjde Ar, Savas Dinçel, Rafet El Roman
Thirtysomething
Suat still lives with his parents and works at his father’s
store when not practising as goalie for the local football
team, Esnaf Spor. Suat is in love with Nurten, the neighbourhood
beauty, but she has never responded to his many secret letters.
The neighbourhood's greatest wish is for Esnaf Spor to win
the amateur league championship. Serkan, a player who was
hurriedly transferred to Esnaf Spor, has his first sexual
experience with Aynur, a prostitute of Armenian descent, with
whom his coach, Haci, is in love... This is an engaging story
of everyday dreams and disappointments.
 THE
PHOTOGRAPH (15)
(Fotograf)
Turkey 2000 / 66m / English subtitles
Director: Kazim Öz
Cast: Feyyaz Duman, Nazmi Kirik, Mizgin Kapazan, Zülfiye
Dolu
An imaginatively
shot and revealing film following the stories of two young
men travelling to the war zone in south-east Turkey by bus.
They sit next to each other, each of them hiding the reason
for his journey from the other. Who are they? Where are they
going? And why? A strange kind of proximity and warmth develops
between the two of them. The road, the cigarettes and the
discomfort they have shared leaves a trace that will reverberate
after their paths have separated.
 SUMMER
LOVE (12)
(O Da
Beni Seviyor)
Turkey 2001 / 100m / English subtitles
Director: Baris Pirhasan
Cast: Ece Eksi, Lale Mansur, Luk Piyes
Summer 1973, Malatya, provincial south-east Turkey. When 12-year-old
Esma is packed off to family friends in the country, Esma
is over the moon to be reunited with her favourite ‘aunt’
and role model, Saliha, the black sheep of the family since
deserting her prospective husband. Sneaking out at dawn to
explore the streets of Arguvan, Esma runs into 18-year-old
Hüseyin, who seems as excited by Saliha’s return
as Esma. Esma feels the stirrings of an interest in him and
looks to be well on the way to growing up. But she has yet
to discover the difference between sweet dreams and not so
sweet reality.
 TRIAL
(15)
(Dava)
Turkey 2001 / 105m / English subtitles
Director: Gani Rüzgar Savata
Cast: Gani Rüzgar Savata, Levent Inanir, Neslihan Acar
The Barzan
family are one among many families returning to their villages
in the south-east after having left because of the terror.
On their return, they find that other families, who were armed
by the state as part of the ‘Protection System’
and did not leave, have taken over land that does not belong
to them. They use their weapons for their own ends but later
realize that killing is not the answer. They resort to the
use of insults and try to break their honour in other ways.
 VIZONTELE
(15)
Turkey
2000 / 105m / English subtitles
Directors: Yilmaz Erdogan & Ömer Faruk Sorak
Cast: Yilmaz Erdogan, Demet Akbag, Altan Erekli
The story
of the arrival of television in a remote town in south-east
Turkey. The year is 1974 and the sudden appearance of this
innovation in this insular society brings with it many confrontations
and comic events. The far-sighted mayor of the town, Nazmi
Dogan, and crazy genius, Emin, are the main characters in
this light-hearted comedy, which earlier this year smashed
all previous box-office records for a Turkish film.
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THE
SONGS OF NAZIM HIKMET (PG)