Eskiya

The 'rebirth' of Turkish cinema is rejoiced with perhaps one of the finest movies to ever appear in Turkey. It appears the sudden pause of the Turkish cinema due to the lacking quality against the western movie market has resumed, transforming yesilcam and its unique and familiar style into something that is more recognizable by the 'new generation'. Movies like Kahbe Bizans, Abuzer Kadayif, Eskiya, and TV series like Ikinci Bahar and Yilan Hikayesi are some of the finest examples of this. Yet these are far more than simple replications of the western styles, these contain an element of the Turkish culture and people that we are so used to seeing. This is the essence of the brilliance beneath Eskiya. The way it accurately reflects our troubles and the way we deal with them.

Beginning with the first scene, we become aware of the how incredibly well written the script is and the realism and truthfulness beneath the characters. This realism in fact is drawn to such a scale that at no poin t in the movie, do we feel anger at any character, or identify one as evil; merely the victims of the horrible system in which we live in, and the incidents we read in the papers everyday. While national problems such as migration, organized crime, and poverty are all central themes to the movie, so are human emotions like betrayal and revenge. Even the bizarre ending filled with numerous deaths appears very natural.

The acting also is quite remarkable. Sener Sen, being a great actor, portrays Baran superbly, while Ugur Yucel with his unquestionable talent does his part and every other role is cast with incredible thought and consideration. The climax I thought shows this the best, Sener Sens monologue on the rooftop scene had tears coming out of my eyes.

Overall, it would be very unjust to say that this is the greatest Turkish movie to be ever filmed because, being a kid of the new generation, I would simply be completely blocking out 50+ years of yesilcam. However with it's great script, the warmth we feel towards the characters, and the amazing performances by the actors, this is one of the best and it most certainly is a symbol of the rebirth of Turkish cinema. If you are Turkish and haven't seen or heard about this movie, you probably slept through the last 5 years go see it now! And if you're not Turkish, you should still see it. I recommend it to anyone.

I've seen this movie in the cinema ten years ago when I was younger and now, after seeing it again, I'm surprised that I still get the same emotions from it. In my review, I'll try to stay away of spoilers but I'll also give you a good treatment of the plot as well (just the big-picture).

Movie starts as Baran, an old eskiya (a honorable bandit) is getting out of prison after 35 years of jail to find his village and his home under the waters of Firat river. He then learns that his confinement was due to an old comrade's betrayal, and that his comrade took away and married his lover, Keje. Baran comes to the biggest city of Turkey, Istanbul to seek his old comrade and maybe to take revenge...

Due to an unlikely coincidence, he meets Cumali, a young man that has no family and is living in Istanbul, earning his life with criminal acts. Baran the Eskiya is not familiar with the city-life but Cumali is willing to help him because of his debt.

Baran the eskiya has a deep character, despite his criminal past, he looks like a naive person in the metropolitan city of Istanbul. Despite that he is an uneducated person, he may be the most honorable and wise person in this big city. Sener Sen (Baran) and Ugur Yucel (Cumali) each gives spectacular acting performance and their talents combined with an intelligent script breathe life into this "Eskiya" myth. Baran is the last of the Eskiyas !

The movie has a slow start but towards the ending, the mood gets stronger. The movie reaches it's climax at the dramatic scenes to the finish. This is a story about honor and the power of love. This is a story about two strangers that are becoming tied emotionally, like the father and the son. A classic Turkish Action/Drama movie for all to see !

PS. also check out another Turkish movie "Kabadayi" by the same director/writer (Yavuz Turgul) and the same actor (Sener Sen).

I found this movie to be one of the best that have ever come out of Turkey. It addresses and reflects on many levels issues and transformations that are currently part of Turkish culture . Sener Sen is strong in his role as an aging "eskiya" (a Turkish word for a bandit that would roam the country, making his living off ambush and looting) who returns to his rural home after years of imprisonment only to find his only love taken away to the big city (Istanbul). The story unfolds as an at times romantic, at times funny, at times sad and serious tale which speaks to the multiplicities of modern Turkish life, be it the culture clash (and melding) between city and rural populace, institutional corruption, poverty, and most importantly the identity of a nation that has for almost a century been torn between East and West. The love story driving the whole plot is really only a lighter framework to depict the more important issues in Turkish society that this movie successfully tackles.

i can write just one comment about this movie. You must see that movie before you die. Magnificent movie from Turkey. "From the cinematography to the plot, to the fine acting, this film is a great example of the diversity of film-making outside Hollywood. A triumph from beginning to end, this film is pretty difficult to pigeonhole as it has so many elements to it. Is it a thriller, is it a reflection on one man's life, is it a buddy movie, is it a revenge movie? It's all this and more. It's got a great pace about it and the depiction of city and country is nicely juxtaposed in many of it's scenes. It's a while since I've seen this film, but there are so many scenes which have stayed with me. I love this film, but damn it's difficult to find." i am join in that.

Sener Sen was a well known actor before Eskiya but after this movie he is like Al Pacino for Turkish people.The movie is the best movie of all Turkish movies and I had seen it for nearly ten times and each time I discovered different things and I liked it more.The movie is about an eshkiya means a person lives in the mountains,takes money from rich people in order to survive someone lawless.After 35 years in prison he meets a man in the train and than their fates go in the same way.He will love him as if like his child so that he will even leave his darling for him.The movie is about love,revenge,mafia and drug deals.It is a real masterpiece and I recommend this to everyone