Bir Baskadir

I was pleasantly surprised watching this series. I am an American. Recently I noticed a lot of options on Netflix came from Turkey. I do not know much about Turkey. About two weeks ago, I decided to watch Resurrection - Etrugrul. I am still watching it. I wanted to watch it because I am of mixed race. I am part Native American and part Original Colonist. I was not raised on a Native (or Indian) Reservation. My father took us all over the world. I wanted to watch Tribal conflicts and the introduction of Christianity from another perspective. Anyway, I decided to watch. I loved it. I had no idea Turkey was so modern. I thought it might be a place like some reservations, where people are trying to combine their traditions and culture but the youth want a place in this modern world. The natives leave because they need jobs. They are of course exposed to a different world. I liked Ethos a lot. I liked seeing that the struggle with being human and especially with being a female is common with all of us. That is the best part about the whole series. It shows how we are connected. I also liked reading all the reviews. They opened my eyes to the thread that links us together. I loved the series and can't wait for the next season.

As a Greek I can relate to both modern and traditional aspects of contemporary Turkey. It was not much different here 60-70 years ago. But I couldn't expect to be confronted with such a magnetising masterpiece that I couldn't let off, watching all 8 episodes in one go. The actors are brilliant without exception, camera is partially silently shocking, images captured are impregnated in a spectator's head, the story will bring tears to your eyes but most important: not one character is good or bad. They are all both good and bad, making them exceptionally human.

So, who is this director? Who are these actors? Why can't we have more from them?

I don't remember ever watching a show from Turkey, so I didn't know what to expect. Not only is the story captivating, but the acting is top notch, world-class, and what's more, it's not "just a show", it actually has a high artistic value.

It's probably just me that I'm a little weird but the show also made me laugh to tears a couple of times. It's not intentionally funny, but there are dialogues that are so realistic and, even if delivered in an angry way, are painful and funny just like life is.

Turkish cinema has produced 2 phenomenal work of art in last decade. First one, Persona (2018), which was the rebirth, silver lining of the long dead performance arts, and Ethos showed us that Persona was just a beginning for a lot to come.

This is probably the best series shot in Turkey since Masum. Acting is just on point, Öykü Karayel particularly nailed the role and her accent. But what I appreciate the most is the director's artistic style and vision. It's a realistic, captivating story with amazing cinematography and solid soundtrack.

By the way, I can't believe there are actually people who criticize this show because "there's lack of diversity". Sorry for being realistic? At least do some research on the country's demographics before claiming such thing. This point of view is no different than casting a black actor for Zeus on Troy. You can't be seriously expecting all countries to make shows according to the diversity in America. The world is bigger than that, you know.