Pardon

Mert Baykal's Pardon (2005) is one of Turkish cinema's sharpest and most unforgettable dark comedies, blending absurd humor with a deeply unsettling critique of systemic injustice. Based on a true story, the film follows Ibrahim (Ferhan Sensoy) and his two close friends, Muzo (Rasim Öztekin) and Aydin (Ali Çatalbas), as they become victims of a terrifying bureaucratic nightmare-wrongfully imprisoned due to an incompetent and indifferent legal system.

At its core, Pardon is a tragic satire of authority, exposing the terrifying ease with which ordinary people can be swallowed by an uncaring system. What begins as a series of misfortunes quickly spirals into absurdity, yet the humor never overshadows the film's more harrowing themes. Instead, the comedy heightens the horror of the situation-turning police interrogations, courtroom hearings, and prison experiences into surreal moments of Kafkaesque insanity.

Ferhan Sensoy delivers a brilliant performance as Ibrahim, a man whose only crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The way his initial disbelief turns into full-blown despair is both hilarious and heartbreaking. His companions, played by Rasim Öztekin and Ali Çatalbas, add to the absurdity, making their camaraderie one of the film's most enduring elements. Despite their suffering, their friendship and humor persist, reinforcing a uniquely Turkish approach to tragedy-laughing through the pain.

Visually, Pardon keeps things grounded, with a raw, almost documentary-like realism that makes the absurdity even more striking. The prison sequences, full of eccentric characters and bleak environments, feel suffocating yet strangely comedic. The script, penned by Sensoy himself, is razor-sharp, delivering biting satire while maintaining a tight grip on the film's emotional weight.

Beyond its humor, Pardon is a scathing indictment of unchecked authority, corruption, and the apathy of institutions. It resonates as a cautionary tale about the fragility of justice, where the lives of innocent people can be derailed in an instant. The film lingers long after the credits roll-not just because of its comedy, but because of the bitter truth it exposes.

This is an impactful movie that I consider to be a cornerstone of modern Turkish cinema. It's title Pardon (Apologies) might as well be directed at the faceless millions who suffer(ed) under fascistic regimes whose human rights abuses will continue to be ignored for political and financial convenience.

On it's surface, Pardon is the story of three hapless mates but it's also the story of a continuous dark period in a quasi-democratic republic, marred with injustice brought on by self-appointed forces tirelessly working to protect the state from its citizens. As the story unfolds, we quickly discover that such protections are nowhere to be found when it's required to protect the citizens from the state, especially during intervals of uninterrupted accelerated authoritarianism.

This is such a bitter pill to swallow that it takes a master like Ferhan Sensoy to wrap it's bitter core up in his humorous candy, enabling us to digest the tragedy through comedy. Ancient Greek playwrights would be proud of his craftsmanship.

It's also a story of human perseverence and companionship which constantly forces its audience to invoke their sense of justice as our unwilling participants are dragged through the sham courts, having their spirits crushed blow after blow, bit by bit until they finally give up and accept their fate. The audience can't help but internalize the depressing feeling of the life being sucked out of these once spirited characters.

Ibrahim, our main protagonist serves as the primary means of conveying the collective humanity of the trio. Through a series of flashbacks We're given a background story covering his desires, hopes and plans for the future. While we're presented with many of his flaws, we also come to understand that he's fundamentally a well meaning person who is at times let down by his own detachment from reality.

His family, especially his father is typical working class with a strictly working class relationship with money and wealth which is also at the core of Ibrahim's problems since he can't seem to find the money to set up a small business of his own, which retards his growth as a person: He can't get married, he can't have a family and settle down so he chases unlikely sources of income such as gambling. It's thus additionally tragic that he has to be forced to grow up in prison, under such dire circumstances while life passes him by, leading to a downward spiral of despair.

Muzaffer and Aydin are seemingly two opposite characters who compliment Ibrahim's personality. Muzaffer is a cynical, somewhat selfish person but he's not devoid of empathy and he always seem to have a soft spot for his friends so while it might take some encouraging, he eventually comes through and does the right thing. Aydin is a naive, optimistic romantic who tries to see the silver lining in everything thus as a reward, the universe in its infinite wisdom punishes him the hardest. He's only involved in this clusterfrack because the police need a third suspect and his name is the one Ibrahim comes up with, he is tortured and convicted for simply having made a good impression.

He also serves as a reminder that if we ever feel inclined to distance ourselves from Ibrahim, as peculiar a character as he is, and mistakenly assume this only happens to people like him who don't have a high regard for authority, we should realize that there is no difference when the blind eye of the justice points at random people to hold accountable for a crime they didn't commit. If you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, it really doesn't matter if you're the right or the wrong person.

Ultimately, this is an amazing movie not just because of the quality of the writing, the acting and the addictively quotable dialogue, it's a movie which, through humor, helps society face the abuses of the so-called justice system and perhaps serve to comfort many open wounds of those who were scarred by it.

I got a chance to see the movie last week, and what an unfortunate pick it was. I really appreciate the last movement in Turkish Cinema which has produced quite good films; but with this one, I can easily tell you that it is one of the worst I've ever watched coming from the last generation Turkish movies (as bad as "Dar Alanda Kisa Paslasmalar").

I waited, waited, waited....... with the hope that something was gonna happen and boom!!! the magical moment: turning all your perceptions of the movie upside down, making you get caught by the movie completely.

Unfortunately, after waiting for this magical moment about 45 minutes, it was the time for me to realize that there wouldn't be anything interesting coming at all. Even though I consider myself pretty much patient person, I couldn't take it anymore -as most of you would have done the same thing- i had to ff to see what happened at the end. At that point, you might ask "How come there wasn't anything good in the whole movie which brings together some of the very well-known names from Turkish Cinema&Theater scene?".

Yes there was one thing good and it was Edip Akbayram's song; but even that couldn't help the movie not to suck

Many talks about G.O.R.A. as the funniest Turkish movie however, as plot vise, shootings and dialogs "pardon" beats all.

First of all, the director is superb. He had put a lot in the movie, many so-called directors has a lot to learn from Mert Baykal. The script belongs the lead actor Ferhan Sensoy, who is one of the most intellectuals of Turkey. His plots and comedy is unmatched.

I suggest this movie to anyone Turkish and non-Turkish people to see how a country's legal system can be corrupted.

The story is one of the true stories of Turkey about its legal system faults. The acting and directing is superb. I have watched it three times in the same week and laughed each time.

An ordinary man who did not have a very lucky life takes a vacation during his very late military duty. However he suddenly finds himself in the jail while he is trying to return home. This is how the story begins.

Serious problems of Turkish current juridical and penal system could only be explained in such a funny and entertaining way. It has the potential to make you laugh no matter how many times you watch it.

Very good soundtracks are also definitely worth mentioning.

A Turkish comedy masterpiece from a theater master inspired by a real event.

Strongly recommended.