Mutluluk

Some forty years ago, one went to a movie because it was based on a famous book. Today you are more likely to ferret out a book because the movie on which the film was based was interesting and probably warrants a closer look at the written word.

One such movie that has set me on the paper chase is the Turkish award winning film "Mutluluk (Bliss)" based on the Turk Zulfu Livaneli's book of the same name. Apparently the considerably well-known book has been adapted and written for the screen by three writers and the director of the film Abdullah Oguz. I believe the translation of the book is available in English but I have yet to lay my hands on a copy. My search for the Livaneli book resulted in two interesting bits of trivia. Livaneli is himself an award-winning film director (at San Sebastian and Montpellier festivals) not just a literary figure. And Livaneli is a music composer of some repute, having closely collaborated on music with Mikis Theodrakis (composer of "Zorba the Greek") of Greece and Livaneli provided the music for my favorite Turkish director Yilmaz Guney's film "Yol" (the Way).

The first five minutes of the film "Bliss" (probably the most stunning 5 minutes in the entire film) is pure heavenly cinema—not anything remotely related to literary genius. You have a shot of a hillock and its mirror image captured in the still waters in the foreground, with heavenly music provided by (you guessed it!) Livaneli. As you are mesmerized by this feast for the eye and ear, the crane shot of the camera zooms in on a herd of sheep. So what's so spectacular? Anyone can do that, you say. But wait, the director captures a cyclical contrarian rotation of the sheep within the herd that is idyllic, providing almost an epiphany of what is to follow in the movie. How the director got the herd to move in that fashion beats all logic and likely animal choreography.

What follows after the opening sequence is a typical honor killing dilemma. A young orphan woman in beautiful lovely rural Turkey has been raped. There is no evidence of who perpetrated the crime until towards the end of the movie. The tradition is that the hapless women are given rope to hang themselves. As the young lass is reluctant to kill herself, her family decides to send her to the city where her escort is charged with the job of honor killing—-kill the woman who has been raped.

What follows is a love story between the killer and the victim, a fascinating interplay of the duo with a rich intellectual who owns a wonderful yacht and is running away from a marriage and responsibility, soaking in the natural beauty of the Aegean Sea and the picture postcard coastline. Everyone seems to be running away from some problem or the other...only to find refuge in beautiful nature. Director Oguz and writer Livaneli seem to suggest that "bliss" for the three different characters can be attained if they try to attain it, irrespective of the socio-political or religious conditions in which they (and therefore you, the viewer) are placed by providence or a cosmic scheme of sorts.

At the end of the film, you begin to wonder at what the film insinuates. At a very obvious level there is a conflict between tradition and modernity, between rural lifestyles and the urban lifestyles, between Asian cultures and European/Western values. At a not so obvious level, there are pregnant references to turmoil within Turkey. Much is lost in translation. You get a feeling that there is more to the story than what you are told in the film. Why did author Livaneli, himself a filmmaker, choose not to direct the film or even write the screenplay, when he graciously provided the music? Perhaps there is an inverse image of the story as suggested by the opening shot of the film. Probably the novel will have some answers. Even without the answers the film is an invitation for anyone to glimpse the beauty of Turkey, with its melting pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. More than anything this possibly sterilized Turkish film has a positive outlook for a country seeking EU membership. Its cinema is quietly surging forward just as its writers are beginning to get noticed worldwide.

Because I have read the novel, comparing novel and the movie is inevitable. In Livaneli's book there are political messages with the stories. Political side become more concrete than happenings. In the novel without giving an importance to characters all three characters – Meryem, Irfan, Cemal- were depicted in detail. Contrary to the novel, in movie there is Meryem in the center of the story. Irfan and Cemal were stayed at the side. Political views were not mentioned in the movie as in the novel.

If we take into consideration the total Mutluluk can be valued as a successful movie. Photographic scenes, music's, players, story are suit each other in great harmony. Ozgu Namal is so naive and so talented, Murat Han acted well, Talat Bulut could be more supportive, Lale Mansur is seen very few. Other players played in middle range.

Abdullah Oguz did well by Mutluluk. I got some questions in my mind. The story is told about the traditions. In Turkey there are traditions and these traditions can hurt the people and change their lives entirely. If you make a film of such a situation which is against the Turkey, it is easy to find a capital/support for movie. I wonder why.

Great movie and was particularly appealing as it covers so many topics/ angles/contrasts. It deals with many opposites.

Starts out with the portrayal of life in rural Turkey and ends up juxtaposing this with the new modern Turkish cultures and views. The opening scene of a barren lakeside with the lively visual of the teaming sheep being herded is breathtaking. It is still burned in my brain.

Displays people at their most inhuman and unfathomable to their most caring and compassionate. One moment you are repulsed by the depths of depravity that man can descend too and then rewarded by the caring and sublime that one can attain. You view parched, barren rocky landscapes then are treated to a seascape that makes you want to book an immediate trip to the Aegean.

There is a minor love story at play and all times the wonderful score interjects itself in the background. The scenery is transcendent. A must see.

Turkey, the exotic land of two continents. The westernized, colorful country in the large urban areas, and conservative, almost different century living in the remote, rural parts. Hence, the encounter between the jaded professor and the two lost young souls entangled in the madness of old traditions and beliefs. This beautifully filmed movie, slowly unravel these troubled lives. They touch upon each other, spend some time together and leave changed and perhaps a bit happier. Gentle, thoughtful film, acted with subtle passion and clarity, and above all, the stunning camera work.The breathtaking beauty of Turkish landscape tells the story of its own.

Definitely the best film I have seen in a long time. I recommend this movie to anyone. The story line is great, it shows lifestyle of both eastern and western turkey and how easterners adopt the western life (well, they try anyway). Although both eastern and western people in the movies are from the same country, they are so apart that its almost as they are from different nations and religions. One is a modern university teacher and the other is a village man that brought a girl to Istanbul so she can kill her and win his families pride again. The actors are amazing and the movie is definitely worth many awards. I give it 10/10 and recommend this to anyone and everyone.