This movie came out in Turkey late 2005, without much advertising. It's a small family drama, set largely in western rural turkey in 1987. Within a couple of weeks, the film became a smash hit solely through word-of-mouth. Since then, it has received every national award and has become the third-biggest grossing film of the country's history by mid-March (it could go even higher, considering it's still playing in theaters after several months). It is indeed a good movie, but i doubt it'll reach the same kind of wide audiences outside the country. It's well-written, well-acted and well-shot; but some of the jokes, and especially the local accent that adds the movie a lot of its charm will be lost on international audiences i'm afraid. Similarly, the film doesn't give much information about the political events that unfold in the background. I think one of the reasons the film did so well is that it reflects the atmosphere of the older Turkish films, from the industry's heyday in the sixties. Its mixture of comedy and tearjerker melodrama catches a very subtle balance. Granted, the melodrama bits are rather manipulative, but effective nonetheless. I heard that a tissue company did a campaign where they distributed tissues to the ingoing audiences, don't know if it's true though. My one (small) problem with the film is a few anachronistic details, but i guess they wouldn't even be noticed by someone who wasn't around then and there. If you come across this movie at a local festival or some other way (not very likely, but anyway), give it a shot. It's worth watching just to see the little kid in the leading role.
