Eskiya - Der Bandit

After 35 years in prison, a mountain bandit goes to Istanbul to find the man who betrayed him and stole his lady. Nothing much new here, dredging up a lot of the usual gangster/revenge/fish out of water motifs, but it does a decent job of pulling you in and manages a certain freshness despite the familiarity of the material. Some of the larger dramatic scenes are painfully clichéd, but it's pieced together nicely and has some pretty good character moments. I get the feeling Turgul is a more talented director than a writer. Sener Sem (who I just realized was also in that lousy "Rascals" movie I recently watched) is a likable fellow, and his rapport with Ugur Yucel works well. Overall it's a somewhat mediocre film, but quite watchable with flashes of potential.

this movie has a great storyline.. for the people that doesn't know Turkish movies highly recommended to watch this movie, its a great drama with Sener Sen (one of the best Turkish actor)who's the last bandit from his old gang. He was in prison because of his backstabbing friend, he gets out of jail and start for seeking revenge and starts finding the real reason of the backstabbing. This movie stays one of my favorites and thats why i wont spoil anything, so i highly recommend you guys this movie !!

10 out of 10

ReZ

I found this movie to be one of the best that have ever come out of Turkey. It addresses and reflects on many levels issues and transformations that are currently part of Turkish culture . Sener Sen is strong in his role as an aging "eskiya" (a Turkish word for a bandit that would roam the country, making his living off ambush and looting) who returns to his rural home after years of imprisonment only to find his only love taken away to the big city (Istanbul). The story unfolds as an at times romantic, at times funny, at times sad and serious tale which speaks to the multiplicities of modern Turkish life, be it the culture clash (and melding) between city and rural populace, institutional corruption, poverty, and most importantly the identity of a nation that has for almost a century been torn between East and West. The love story driving the whole plot is really only a lighter framework to depict the more important issues in Turkish society that this movie successfully tackles.

I've seen this movie in the cinema ten years ago when I was younger and now, after seeing it again, I'm surprised that I still get the same emotions from it. In my review, I'll try to stay away of spoilers but I'll also give you a good treatment of the plot as well (just the big-picture).

Movie starts as Baran, an old eskiya (a honorable bandit) is getting out of prison after 35 years of jail to find his village and his home under the waters of Firat river. He then learns that his confinement was due to an old comrade's betrayal, and that his comrade took away and married his lover, Keje. Baran comes to the biggest city of Turkey, Istanbul to seek his old comrade and maybe to take revenge...

Due to an unlikely coincidence, he meets Cumali, a young man that has no family and is living in Istanbul, earning his life with criminal acts. Baran the Eskiya is not familiar with the city-life but Cumali is willing to help him because of his debt.

Baran the eskiya has a deep character, despite his criminal past, he looks like a naive person in the metropolitan city of Istanbul. Despite that he is an uneducated person, he may be the most honorable and wise person in this big city. Sener Sen (Baran) and Ugur Yucel (Cumali) each gives spectacular acting performance and their talents combined with an intelligent script breathe life into this "Eskiya" myth. Baran is the last of the Eskiyas !

The movie has a slow start but towards the ending, the mood gets stronger. The movie reaches it's climax at the dramatic scenes to the finish. This is a story about honor and the power of love. This is a story about two strangers that are becoming tied emotionally, like the father and the son. A classic Turkish Action/Drama movie for all to see !

PS. also check out another Turkish movie "Kabadayi" by the same director/writer (Yavuz Turgul) and the same actor (Sener Sen).

Sener Sen was a well known actor before Eskiya but after this movie he is like Al Pacino for Turkish people.The movie is the best movie of all Turkish movies and I had seen it for nearly ten times and each time I discovered different things and I liked it more.The movie is about an eshkiya means a person lives in the mountains,takes money from rich people in order to survive someone lawless.After 35 years in prison he meets a man in the train and than their fates go in the same way.He will love him as if like his child so that he will even leave his darling for him.The movie is about love,revenge,mafia and drug deals.It is a real masterpiece and I recommend this to everyone