Un toque de canela

See this film. You don't have to be Greek or Turkish to be touched. Do not expect a complicated scenario. It's a simple story that moves between funny and dramatic to touch sensitive chordes of your sentiments. Not boring. Gives you a better mood than when you enter the theatre. Eat well before viewing.

Here are some reasons why I profoundly enjoyed this film: I like movies where you get to know people - people you like, that you remember, that you keep with you. I also like it when the guy in the uniform is NOT the hero, but here it's even better - the guy in the uniform is wrong, but not quite all bad... I like when the Turks don't get all the blame. I like it when the Greeks don't get all the blame. I like spices and stars and complicated smells and honest, complex people and I like dreamers and slowly, carefully told tales about human people.

If they don't seem very good reasons, please consider that the whole is much, much more than the sum of the parts.

And by the way... I am proof you that you don't need to have any Greek ancestors to be moved by this movie.

This movie has become the biggest box office hit in Greece ever with more than one million tickets already sold. So the money spent were well spent. It is about the "Polis" (Constantinoupolis) the City. The polis, namely Istanbul, has its images, sounds, smells and of course its unbelievable cuizine. Greeks and Turks long for it and cannot live away from it. Cought in political turbulence, the Greeks of Istanbul are deported to mainland Greece bringing with them the art of cooking that awakens memories of a past long gone. A will for reconciliation prevails when the deported child returns to Istanbul many years later. It is worth watching for some delightful stage design and beautiful music as well as for turning on ones appetite. Some of the missed opportunities of this film include mediocre acting from some of the characters and the very few takes from Istanbul that should have been more.

People before me have already written about the movie, its technical structure, historical facts, etc. I don't have so much to add to them. It is a good movie. Congratulations to everyone who had a place in the production. Performances of Turkish artists are pretty good. Tamer Karadagli showed that he can do better than he did in some TV series. Anyway, that's another story.

As some other people said, you don't need to be a Turk or Greek to enjoy this movie. Even though such bitter-sweet, somehow mellow movies are not my kind of movies, I loved this movie.

This movie is a humanist answer to all those Turk, Greek, English and American politicians and strategists who wanted to create hate between two nations.

And... We, Turks and Greeks, need more movies like that.

Having strong bonds with the story behind this movie I have to say that it is one if not the best Greek movie I have watched in my life. It touches sensitively on subjects that by many can be considered wrong to talk about and presents them in the nicest way without diverting from the history. The political turmoil as well as the relationships of people living in Polis (Istanbul) are highlighted and the key figures although play minor role in the events that happen around them still steal the interest by presenting how simple yet "rich" in taste their life was. Coming from a family that was as well deported (using a modest word here for what really happened) from home lands, the movie touched me in so many ways. I think it deserves a 10/10 and is highly recommended.. not only for the Greeks that can relate to the story but for anyone who can appreciate a good story.