Labirent

Tolga Örnek's LABİRENT/ LABYRINTH follows in the footsteps of Ridley Scott's BODY OF LIES (2008) and Mahsun Kırmızıgül's Turkish thriller NEW YORK'TA BEŞ MİNARE/ FIVE MINARETS IN NEW YORK (2010) in its plot of local secret service agents foiling a terrorist plot to cause mayhem in the center of a big city - in this case, İstanbul.

Fikret (Timuçin Esen) and Reyhan (Meltem Cumbul) spearhead the agents' campaign with relentless persistence. Their lives are entirely devoted to work, so much that Reyhan seldom gets to see her daughter Selin grow up. Fikret certainly has romantic inclinations towards Reyhan but consciously suppresses them, much to his colleague Bülent's (Sarp Akkaya's) amusement. But then this is modern-day İstanbul, a city that never sleeps, where everyone has to be vigilant against possible bombings.

Örnek's thriller draws on some familiar - some might say tired - stereotypes of İstanbul as a hotbed of intrigue, where every innocent conversation on a street corner or in a çayhane (tea-shop) might be suspicious. One of the terrorists who blows himself up in a suicide bombing turns out to be an ex-learner at İstanbul University, which prompts the security forces to initiate a massive search on campus.

Other tired conventions include a deliberately suspicious relationship between members of different security forces. Fikret suspects Hugh Spencer (Martin Turner) of MI5, especially when Hugh offers an exchange of spies. Fikret's response is to accuse the British of being only fair-weather friends with Turkey; when the West's interests are threatened, everyone tries to get on with each.

On the other hand LABİRENT includes a strong nationalist element. Fikret is photographed in one sequence next to a large photograph of Atatürk; on several occasions he is shown in the secret services offices, a buzzing hive of activity in which everyone works long hours to solve the case. No one, it seems, will put personal before national interests. There is a strong sense of irony behind this nationalism, however; Reyhan receives a certificate and a medal from the authorities for her work on the case, while Fikret lies dead and buried in a newly-created grave. As in GELİBOLU, individuals have to die to preserve national stability.

The film also examines the nature of families, and how they extend beyond the domestic into the national and religious spheres. Many of the characters - both good and bad - are caught in a conflict of interests between these constructions of family, often leading to violent consequences.

Fast-moving, with an atmospheric score by Cavit Ergün (amongst others), LABİRENT gives new impetus to a familiar tale.

I missed the movie in the theaters, but finally bought a DVD since I know Tolga Örnek is one of the best directors in Turkey with quite remarkable documentaries as Hittites & Gallipoli on the last decade. He also directed Devrim Arabalari ( Cars of the Revolution ) which told the sad story of the first Turkish made automobile in 1961. The movie is much better than many action & drama movies on terrorism, especially fundamentalist terrorism which began emerging with the 9/11 events. The story covers many aspects of the life of the Turkish counter- terrorist teams & the intelligence missions as well as their relations with the western colleagues. Even there's a slight story of love between two members which already seems to end in a dramatic way. Meltem Cumbul, who is a very talented actress, plays a part as an officer in the team named Reyhan. She wears a totally different character leaving all her beauty aside. Timuçin Esen ( Fikret ) is in the leading role, but he plays without ups & downs, with some vengeance & passion. The special effects are quite well done regarding the low budget, also the soundtrack done by Cavit Ergun, Can Gox & Erdem Tarabus gets a credit. The continuity of the movie is just as it must be, not boring, but not going too fast that'll make you miss some points. Well done Tolga Örnek... Another success in my opinion...

Labyrinth is an excellent intelligence drama set mainly in Istanbul, Turkey. It revolves around a small group of Turkish intelligence officers trying to foil a major terrorist plot by capturing members of an active radical Islamist cell.

The plot contains human elements by bringing in the personal lives of several of the officers. The emotional toll of high stress work often with disastrous results and the ensuing guilt is well portrayed.

The movie's excitement level builds well until the denouement. An often predictable plot with wooden acting at times, the movie is saved by the rising excitement level and a few key twists in the plot, including the conclusion.

However, what really differentuates this movie from the standard Hollywood spy thriller is that it's not Hollywood. It's a Turkish production with Turkish nationalist undertones reverberating throughout the film. No American or British heroes here.

Those interested in spy thrillers will enjoy Labyrinth.

I thought about another film titled FIVE MINARETS IN NY, speaking about the same topic and produced by another country than the USA. I also that there are some films like those two, one in London, speaking of terrorism, and from a very smart angle, without clichés in the 24 HOURS manner, always sooo predictable...Dark tales all of them.