Yesilcam

Nefes (Turkish for 'Breath') is probably the most anticipated Turkish movie of this year. It is the best Turkish war movie of all time and has the best combat scene ever shot in the history of Turkish cinema, but, of course, what is there to compete?

Breath is about a small group of Turkish soldiers in a remote patrol station waiting for their near-certain death during a time the conflict between Turkish Army and separatist militant organization PKK reached its peak point. A major who had just lost two people in his command in a combat with PKK militants arrives at the station and takes charge. He finds it very difficult to step out of the state of depression due to his recent loss and so intimidates his soldiers into bettering themselves to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. During his stay there, he came across a PKK militant called the 'Doctor' who intervenes in his phone calls with his wife through radio frequencies. This becomes almost habitual with frequent exchange of hostile words between two. ' Why do you live like pigs instead of being a doctor in your village and serving your people' the Major asks and 'I would rather live in my mountains as a freeman than being a doctor from your universities' the Doctor replies. In parallel to that, we observe daily routines of soldiers and their sincere phone calls with their loved ones as we approach to the inevitable end.

It is obvious that the movie is intended to be a propaganda device. We sympathize with our soldiers through their several phone conversations with their families and friends. On the other hand, militants are depicted as zombies who attack innocent people stuck in a cabin just like in a George Romero movie. Their leader, the Doctor, even has that 'jigsaw killer' voice. That is probably why the movie with its full title 'Long live the Homeland' is already hailed by top army officials during its opening day. However, it is difficult to understand why? First of all, the film gives you the impression that Turkish soldiers stand no chance against fierce militants that coincides with PKK's successful recent raids to such patrol stations. Another thing is the conversations between the Doctor and Major. The Doctor sounds very 'cool' as a man who believes in a higher cause, and the Major, on the other hand, just uses some cliché sentences filled with swear words and there is also a hint (actually more than a hint at one scene) that the officer is inclined to commit war crime.

Leaving politics aside, the movie does succeed in creating a great patrol atmosphere, with beautiful shots of Turkey's eastern mountains. Clouds and fog are an important focus of attention, which takes you out of this world to a mystical place. Combat scene technically equals a good Hollywood movie. I have my doubts about how much an outsider would enjoy this movie considering the fact that it brings nothing new to the genre, but anyone who had been through 90s in Turkey would appreciate this movie thoroughly.

Suru (Turkish for 'Herd') is probably the best work of Yilmaz GUNEY, the most influential figure in the history of Turkish Cinema. As a young girl, Berivan (Melike DEMIRAG) was given in marriage to Sirvan (Tarik AKAN) to end the feud (Kan Davasi) between two families. Although bloodshed stops, it does not end the hostility. Years pass and Berivan produce three infant deaths, which makes Hamo (Tuncel KURTIZ), the patriarch of the family, very resentful towards her. Although Sirvan is a good man in his essence and very caring towards his wife, he is unable to confront feudal values, thus cannot help Berivan who retreats into silence for many years. One spring, Hamo wants to take his herd of sheep to Ankara for sale and Sirvan joins him and takes Berivan along with the hope of finding a cure for his illness in the city. The railroad journey from the eastern Turkey to the west becomes the center of the story and is used as a vehicle to show the corruption and social injustice in Turkish Society in mid 70's.

The film has an incredibly rich story line. At one point during the movie, you are asking yourself what is there left to say about ignorance and injustice. For instance, the image of crippled prostitute walking on railroad track still breaks my heart; engineer and conductors of the train, who bring the train to a sudden halt, thus cruelly injuring the animals riding in the wagons just because they don't get the bribery they wanted, still gives me a sudden flash of anger. Just think of tens of scenes like that, you will understand what kind of powerful movie I am talking about.

Suru was shot under very difficult conditions during a time just before the military coup d'etat of 1980 not to mention that Yilmaz GUNEY was at the prison during filming. That is probably why it looks technically inferior, i.e. no control of color, lighting or sound. However, this gives the movie a realistic look. It has some minor flaws, such as the didactic language GUNEY uses time to time. For instance, an socialist student Sirvan met in Ankara tries to explain him (or all illiterate people suffering under the corrupt system on his behalf) reasons of their misery and showing nice buildings in the city utters sentences like "Only the people who exploit you can afford to live here". True, yet, this severely interrupts the story, sounds irritating. The story already tells everything, why the need for words... However, the movie with its excellent script and direction (please let us do not forget Zeki OKTEN) and its fantastic performances has enough to be a true masterpiece of Modern Turkish Cinema.