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Some forty years ago, one went to a movie because it was based on a famous book. Today you are more likely to ferret out a book because the movie on which the film was based was interesting and probably warrants a closer look at the written word.

One such movie that has set me on the paper chase is the Turkish award winning film "Mutluluk (Bliss)" based on the Turk Zulfu Livaneli's book of the same name. Apparently the considerably well-known book has been adapted and written for the screen by three writers and the director of the film Abdullah Oguz. I believe the translation of the book is available in English but I have yet to lay my hands on a copy. My search for the Livaneli book resulted in two interesting bits of trivia. Livaneli is himself an award-winning film director (at San Sebastian and Montpellier festivals) not just a literary figure. And Livaneli is a music composer of some repute, having closely collaborated on music with Mikis Theodrakis (composer of "Zorba the Greek") of Greece and Livaneli provided the music for my favorite Turkish director Yilmaz Guney's film "Yol" (the Way).

The first five minutes of the film "Bliss" (probably the most stunning 5 minutes in the entire film) is pure heavenly cinema—not anything remotely related to literary genius. You have a shot of a hillock and its mirror image captured in the still waters in the foreground, with heavenly music provided by (you guessed it!) Livaneli. As you are mesmerized by this feast for the eye and ear, the crane shot of the camera zooms in on a herd of sheep. So what's so spectacular? Anyone can do that, you say. But wait, the director captures a cyclical contrarian rotation of the sheep within the herd that is idyllic, providing almost an epiphany of what is to follow in the movie. How the director got the herd to move in that fashion beats all logic and likely animal choreography.

What follows after the opening sequence is a typical honor killing dilemma. A young orphan woman in beautiful lovely rural Turkey has been raped. There is no evidence of who perpetrated the crime until towards the end of the movie. The tradition is that the hapless women are given rope to hang themselves. As the young lass is reluctant to kill herself, her family decides to send her to the city where her escort is charged with the job of honor killing—-kill the woman who has been raped.

What follows is a love story between the killer and the victim, a fascinating interplay of the duo with a rich intellectual who owns a wonderful yacht and is running away from a marriage and responsibility, soaking in the natural beauty of the Aegean Sea and the picture postcard coastline. Everyone seems to be running away from some problem or the other...only to find refuge in beautiful nature. Director Oguz and writer Livaneli seem to suggest that "bliss" for the three different characters can be attained if they try to attain it, irrespective of the socio-political or religious conditions in which they (and therefore you, the viewer) are placed by providence or a cosmic scheme of sorts.

At the end of the film, you begin to wonder at what the film insinuates. At a very obvious level there is a conflict between tradition and modernity, between rural lifestyles and the urban lifestyles, between Asian cultures and European/Western values. At a not so obvious level, there are pregnant references to turmoil within Turkey. Much is lost in translation. You get a feeling that there is more to the story than what you are told in the film. Why did author Livaneli, himself a filmmaker, choose not to direct the film or even write the screenplay, when he graciously provided the music? Perhaps there is an inverse image of the story as suggested by the opening shot of the film. Probably the novel will have some answers. Even without the answers the film is an invitation for anyone to glimpse the beauty of Turkey, with its melting pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. More than anything this possibly sterilized Turkish film has a positive outlook for a country seeking EU membership. Its cinema is quietly surging forward just as its writers are beginning to get noticed worldwide.

'Mutluluk' is going to be an important step in the growing film industry of Turkey…

This is one of the most impressive movie since 'Eskiya'. I read the book and I can easily say that this is really very good adaptation of the book.The directing, acting and especially art directing is really successful. The score of the film was conducted bye the writer of the book 'Zulfu Livaneli'( who is also a great musician.) and gives the deep feeling of the book..This movie is about three characters escaping from their destinies… If you want to watch an amazing story go and watch the crashing stories of Meryem, Cemal and Irfan who is a professor who wants to escape from the lies and dirt of his fake life. Acting was very good. Although all of the cast is good 'Ozgu Namal' (Meryem) is one step beyond them.. She is fabulous…..

All in all, whether you read the book or not , if you want to watch a good film go and watch this film

"Bliss" is the very best new movie I've seen in years, an enthralling, exquisite, moving, important film. Given current trends, I can't imagine a mainstream American film being this brave, this engaging, and this pertinent. If you are a thinking, feeling movie fan, see "Bliss." You won't regret it.

Some reviews make "Bliss" sound like a National Geographic documentary about exotic foreigners, or an essay about honor killing, or a stab at Muslim-Western clashes, or a slide show of exotic Turkish locales. "Bliss" is none of those things. It is a movie-movie, a film that sucked me into its world and made me forget my surroundings; "Bliss" made me love and care about the characters on screen from its opening shots. I was, at times, on the edge of my seat; I cried; I shouted at the screen; my palms sweat. After the film was over, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I wanted to grab all my movie fan friends and demand that they see it and that we sit up all night talking about it.

That I loved the characters is testimony to how powerful this film is. Cemal (Murat Han), the main character, is a returning Turkish solider who's been off fighting terrorists. (The terrorists in question may be Kurds pressing for an independent Kurdish state, but the film never names them.) Cemal broods much, smiles little, carries a gun, suffers from PTSD, and is plagued by nightmares. He slavishly accepts, from his father, the all-powerful headman of his village, the job of honor killing his distant cousin, Meryem (Ozgu Namal), a naïve village girl who has been raped. Cemal is a genuinely scary guy. He curses at Meryem, denouncing her as a "whore" and a "bitch." He slaps her. In some very tense scenes, he reveals himself quite ready to, and capable of, killing several people. And yet "Bliss" made me love Cemal, care about his fate, and see the world through his eyes. In fact, when Cemal fails at his first attempt to kill Meryem, and squats in shame, I felt sorry for him. That is powerful filmmaking. Murat Han is completely natural in the role. You never catch him acting. He just is Cemal.

Ozgu Namal, as Meryem, gives an equally miraculous performance. Again, I felt, when watching this, as if I were watching real people. I've lived in pre-modern, traditional villages, and Namal and the other actors expertly capture the cringing, downtrodden posture that subservient people assume in the presence of their superiors in the village hierarchy. Men like Cemal cast their eyes down and say "Yes, sir," when ordered around by the village headman; girls like Meryem, with no status whatsoever, cringe at all times, scuttling through life, struggling to assure their continued existence by continuously pleasing those above them – and those above them include everyone. Meryem cringes and looks away and plasters herself to a train seat when handing Cemal a pita bread sandwich she has made for him; he must eat and be satisfied before she can eat. Even when she gets a fish bone stuck in her throat her hands flutter and her eyes grow wide with anxiety as Cemal tries to keep her from choking – ironic given that his job is to kill her. She doesn't want to demand too much. Her body language says, "Don't worry; I'll just choke to death. I don't want to be a bother." Namal conveys the complex inner life of a girl who has been denied any identity or individuality by her crushing, loveless surroundings. In one scene, she talks about her relationship with her grandmother, and it is so poignant only a stonehearted film-goer could avoid crying.

But Turkey is not just traditional villages; it also has a coast where Western tourists and modernized Turks lounge in bikinis. Cemal and Meryem encounter Irfan (Talat Bulut), a renegade professor cruising the coast in his yacht. Irfan smiles and enjoys life; his hair is snowy white. He is bright opposite to brooding, dark, Cemal. But Irfan's life isn't perfect, either. He doesn't quite know how to fit his modern, sunny mentality into traditional Turkish culture.

All scenes, even lighthearted ones, are shadowed by menace. The law is ironclad: Meryem must be killed by a member of her family. She has been raped; she is "tainted," as Cemal puts it. There is a knife, a gun, a pair of strangling hands, hiding around every corner of every shot, even those on the professor's yacht. You know that no matter how far Meryem gets from her village, she is not going to find safety within the confines of this world, or this movie.

Because this film caused me to care so much about Cemal, Meryem, and Irfan, I struggled with the questions they faced. How can a raped girl survive in a traditional Muslim village? If she escapes her village, where can she make a life for herself? Can she, ever? Can a girl who has been trained to cringe and serve and hide behind her veil ever fit in with Westernized Turkish girls, who, clad only in bikinis, visit Prof. Irfan's yacht? And what about Cemal? Will he always only be a man who responds with frightening rage when asked to set a table because that is "women's work," who feels duty-bound to beat down any woman who questions his absolute, masculine authority? And who is to say which world is better, the village, with its tradition, or the professor's world, where he does seem truly without anchors?

Great movie and was particularly appealing as it covers so many topics/ angles/contrasts. It deals with many opposites.

Starts out with the portrayal of life in rural Turkey and ends up juxtaposing this with the new modern Turkish cultures and views. The opening scene of a barren lakeside with the lively visual of the teaming sheep being herded is breathtaking. It is still burned in my brain.

Displays people at their most inhuman and unfathomable to their most caring and compassionate. One moment you are repulsed by the depths of depravity that man can descend too and then rewarded by the caring and sublime that one can attain. You view parched, barren rocky landscapes then are treated to a seascape that makes you want to book an immediate trip to the Aegean.

There is a minor love story at play and all times the wonderful score interjects itself in the background. The scenery is transcendent. A must see.

This delicately-paced story about the ironclad Turkish custom of honor killing encompasses all the restrictive practices of closed societies that grant no freedom to women and punish them for the sins of the men. Because young Meryem has been raped, she must be sent to Istanbul to be executed far from the shame at home.

Although the story has been told innumerable times, Bliss is as fresh as the Turkish breeze blowing over the sailboat Meryem and her cousin, Cemal, find refuge on after he fails to kill her transporting her to the city. It is difficult to expunge the images, like those in Knife in the Water, of purity and violation that hang around the boat while the skipper professor, knowing nothing of the horror Meryem has been through, takes on the couple as crew and eventually as students in the art of leading a happy life.

Director Abdullah Ogduz successfully mixes the lyrical escape with the impending doom, the happiness tainted by her past as an impure woman, and the relentless pursuit by a family bound to kill the young woman.

The three principals are as powerful as any others in this year's canon: Cemal is a robust young ex-soldier used to obeying officers and his father; Meryem, who refuses to accuse anyone of the rape, is a naïve with a second-grade education fascinated by the ship's map, a gentle metaphor for the transforming nature of the trip; professor Irfan, is a handsome, charismatic older man, who must navigate his own life to reach a more peaceful place, but not before he teaches the couple about love and life.

Bliss is an ironic title or not depending on your orientation. I recommend you make up you mind by seeing one of the simple sea stories that tells a much larger tale about repression and the emergence of women from imprisonment.

Maryem's innocent face will haunt you as the images of the romantic boat lull you into complacency about the hidden horrors of repressive societies.

Bliss is one of the best films to sail into theaters in the last two years.

Bliss (2007)

Utterly gorgeous, and utterly deplorable for a Westerner to see the mistreatment of a girl in this way. I know I'm supposed to be open minded and accept that this Muslim Turkish culture is simply different than my own, but it's clear that the movie, made by Turks, is also a condemnation of the barbarity shown.

The movie is very sensitively done, very well filmed. I found it frankly slow, in terms of development, depending on a lyrical mood and terrific light to sustain ordinary moments as well as extraordinary ones. The contrast of utter modernity and utterly medieval ideas is fascinating, but also frustrating. But that's part of the point. It's quite a beautifully, tenderly made movie, with some very real types allowed to blossom.

In the end, by the end, it's so completely heartbreaking and heartwarming, you will fall in love with Turkey, and with what this film is saying about life so well, no matter what your beliefs.

Definitely the best film I have seen in a long time. I recommend this movie to anyone. The story line is great, it shows lifestyle of both eastern and western turkey and how easterners adopt the western life (well, they try anyway). Although both eastern and western people in the movies are from the same country, they are so apart that its almost as they are from different nations and religions. One is a modern university teacher and the other is a village man that brought a girl to Istanbul so she can kill her and win his families pride again. The actors are amazing and the movie is definitely worth many awards. I give it 10/10 and recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Because I have read the novel, comparing novel and the movie is inevitable. In Livaneli's book there are political messages with the stories. Political side become more concrete than happenings. In the novel without giving an importance to characters all three characters – Meryem, Irfan, Cemal- were depicted in detail. Contrary to the novel, in movie there is Meryem in the center of the story. Irfan and Cemal were stayed at the side. Political views were not mentioned in the movie as in the novel.

If we take into consideration the total Mutluluk can be valued as a successful movie. Photographic scenes, music's, players, story are suit each other in great harmony. Ozgu Namal is so naive and so talented, Murat Han acted well, Talat Bulut could be more supportive, Lale Mansur is seen very few. Other players played in middle range.

Abdullah Oguz did well by Mutluluk. I got some questions in my mind. The story is told about the traditions. In Turkey there are traditions and these traditions can hurt the people and change their lives entirely. If you make a film of such a situation which is against the Turkey, it is easy to find a capital/support for movie. I wonder why.

There are absolutely only two reasons why I loved this movie. First one is the way it was written. It is expected and unexpected at the same time. It takes so many different turns that it becomes hard to what to expect for the next second. The second one was of course the acting. Everyone played their parts extremely well. I felt like I was one of them and experiencing the same kind of emotions. I could not keep myself from crying and laughing at the same time. It really is hard to find movies like this. And of course what really impressed me was the ending. I have really found what I was looking for. It is kind of rare to find movies that have satisfying endings. I would also like to use this opportunity to recommend couple more movies for those who share the same kind of movie taste; Babam ve Oglum, Kabadayi

Bliss is a provocative voyage across the exotic landscape and placid waterways of Turkey.

Set in an intriguing locale, based on an important novel, Bliss is the tale of diverse culture and sharp -- sometimes brutal -- conflicts. It is a voyage of coming to grips with the challenging cultural mix of tradition and modernity.

Since one of the major factors in this movie is the concept of honor killing, it seems as though it will be very depressing, but ultimately Bliss is life-affirming.

Read the full review here:

http://tonymacklin.net/content.php?cID=250

Tony Macklin

http://tonymacklin.net/

Turkey, the exotic land of two continents. The westernized, colorful country in the large urban areas, and conservative, almost different century living in the remote, rural parts. Hence, the encounter between the jaded professor and the two lost young souls entangled in the madness of old traditions and beliefs. This beautifully filmed movie, slowly unravel these troubled lives. They touch upon each other, spend some time together and leave changed and perhaps a bit happier. Gentle, thoughtful film, acted with subtle passion and clarity, and above all, the stunning camera work.The breathtaking beauty of Turkish landscape tells the story of its own.

Turkish filmmaker Abdullah Oguz adapts the Zulfu Livaneli ("Iron Earth, Copper Sky", "Mist" & "Shahmaran") novel of the same title into a powerful movie that won prizes at the 2008 Turkish Film Festival in Nuremberg, the 2008 Miami International Film Festival and the 2007 Prix Odyssee Human Rights Award from the European Council.

The ephemeral Ozgu Namal puts in a powerfully nuanced performance as the young girl raped and them condemned to death by honour killing whilst Murat Han is uneasy as her star-crossed lover ordered to perform the act, and Talat Bulut curiously out of place as the Professor bored of his own storyline, who joins theirs.

The director creates a moving first act as the almost silent Namal is condemned by all around her in an act of barbarity still far to common in modern Turkey but when Bulunt insinuates himself into the plot things turn into a second rate remake of "Knife in the Water" and lead to an all to predictable denouement.

People can be young and old, but not the wind!

Mutluluk is an amazing movie. It is story of two countries. Rural Turkey which is still clinging to its old ways and traditions and Modern Turkey which is developed and educated and see the traditions as outdated. I guess it is the same for any big developing country.

The contrast between the two Turkeys is huge and I think stressed upon visually also in the movie. The acting was just amazing and the characters are given time to develop. The plot itself is heartbreaking and fascinating from the viewpoint of an outsider.

But beyond the dramatic payoff, what I couldn't believe was that how slick this movie was. Cinematography is dazzling and not even a single shot is wasted. Background score is very distinct and powerful but it never overpowers the narrative. It was so well made in technical department that I couldn't really believe that it was a Turkish film. Well, maybe it is my ignorance of Turkish cinema. I would definitely be checking more Turkish films from now on.

There are few movies that take on the subject of rape and trauma so delicately and with such an eye to detail. While Cemal's own trauma as a war veteran is a bit hokey and never develops, Meryem's healing process is visually stunning -- the actress truly depicts an entire range of emotions and reactions literally with just her eyes.

Flying in the face of the stereotypes that most Westerners bring to the film regarding rural Muslim women, Meryem chooses to believe in her own worth, innocence, and right to live despite extensive abuse and through the conflicting demands of culture. Her few lines continuously add depth to her character and motivations -- the moment when she fires the gun into the air and says, "Why does no one ever listen to me?" seems to be a good summary of her life and the film generally.

While the conclusion of the film is too clean (the "Beauty and the Beast" story commences, Cemal does what "circumstances demand" without getting blood on his hands, Meryem ends in a situation likely to be as volatile and abusive as the one that she fled), Meryem's transcendence over both the victim-blaming of all those around her and the multiple death sentences dealt to her teach lessons that are important to learn for all cultures.

Mutluluk (2007) is a Turkish film shown in the U.S. with the translated title "Bliss." It was co-written and directed by Abdullah Oguz. The movie is based on a novel by Zülfü Livaneli .

The movie opens with a young woman, laying unconscious at the side of a rural road. Everyone assumes that she has been raped, and, therefore, "dishonored." In that remote setting, the family honor can only be restored by the woman's death. A second cousin, Cemal, is chosen to kill her. She is forced to travel to Istanbul with Cemal, where the killing is going to take place.

Özgü Namal plays the young woman (Meryem), while Murat Han portrays Cemal. Both of them are superb actors, and it's a pleasure to see them display their acting skills.

The location switches to Istanbul, which is a huge cosmopolitan city. (The population of Istanbul's metropolitan municipality is over 15 million!) "Honor killing" is seen as barbaric there. The location again shifts to an area outside of Istanbul, where the mountains meet the ocean.

This movie is very compelling, because there's tension in every scene. Even when matters appear to be going well, you know that they won't remain that way. I don't want to describe it further, because I urge people to find this movie and appreciate it without knowing any more about the plot.

We saw this movie on DVD, where it worked well enough. Some of the scenery is incredibly beautiful, so that beauty is partially lost on the small screen. If you get a chance to see this film in a theater, take it. If not, watch it anyway.

"Bliss" has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.6. I think it's even better than that.

Was my pleasure to attend this movie screening at the Turkish embassy in Riyadh, May 24th.

I have watched so many Turkish movies through the past few years, the most i was attracted to is the music within the films and its integrity within the scenes/characters, that what makes Turkish movies different from others.

But when I have to speak about cultural Turkish movies, or mostly the ones speaking about traditions, i have never been to "Mutluluk", I like it because, it was only focusing about this aspect, and how we learn to come over them with time, how different lyres of society are in need for each others no matter how big differences they are living.

Mutluluk. unlike other movies that shed light on traditions, culture, mixed with internal politics, i.e; Baska Semtin Cocuklari, or Gunesi Gordum. I cant deny that those were examples of great Turkish movies, but speaking of yesterday's occasion, it was a smart choice, perfect for the current period of time, away from politics, focusing only on what it should!

Much of the success of "Mutluluk" is due to Mirsed Herovic's utterly striking cinematography. From beginning to end, there's an artist behind the camera, creating arresting, often dazzling images. The production team in general do expert jobs, as does the cast.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the script (based on a novel) which becomes tedious and, for me, unconvincing in terms of character motivation and action.

The drama failed to connect with me, try as I did to reach out to these people and their plights. Likewise, the director tried; still, the script just didn't ring true, and became a bit of a chore to hang on till the end..

The actors are all solid, and did their best, hampered by a lugubrious script and character and plot development. In the end, an average film.

This movie focuses on a serious problem in Turkey. Traditional rules are sometimes above the government laws. In this movie, we observe the conflict of the boy who has to kill his cousin because of these traditional rules. Although he can not accept that the thing he has to do is good, he tries his best to do. However, his love, emotions and strong feelings don't let him do that. The traditions, east-west difference and point of different world views in Turkey are shown dramatically and in a very effective way. The actress Özgü Namal who is one of the best actresses in Turkey did a very good job in this movie. Maybe she acts her best performance ever. Talat Bulut is also fascinating but as a whole, in Mutluluk, acting performance is much over the average. Director Abdullah Oğuz proves his quality in this movie too as well as he did in Babam ve Oğlum. In conclusion, this movie can be one of the best Turkish movies ever, because it really deserves this honor totally.