Erkekler

It is one of the films that have influenced my life.

Faruk Aksoy's comedy bears a strong resemblance to the British film PERCY (1971), which focused on a male hero having a penis transplant. In ERKEKLER the protagonist Adem (Fikret Kuskan) is discovered on the top of a high-building trying to cut his penis off, in the belief that it has been the cause of all his traumas, both mental and physical. Confined to a psychiatric hospital, he talks about his life and times to Dr. Nazim (Ali Poyrazoglu), and discovers the truth about himself. ERKEKLER starts off with some good jokes about the penis (given the sobriquet Oscar in the film), but eventually peters out into a sentimental film about the importance of marriage and reconciliation, as Adem finally reconciles himself to ex-wife Hale (Gunes Emir). Faruk Aksoy and Yilmaz Okumus' script is very much written from a masculine perspective: it is perfectly all right for Adem to bed as many women as he chooses, even while being married, but when Hale does the same (even after her divorce), she is perceived as being somehow shameful in her behavior. Adem apologizes for his past misdemeanors and is forgiven, despite the fact that he admits to a wandering eye. As the doctor, Poyrazoglu tries his best to keep the laughs flowing, but at best ERKEKLER is an unmemorable film.