New York'ta Bes Minare

Despite a few clichés, the movie is not, first of all, a predictable one. It starts like any other Hollywood picture, with secret agents and the most fresh subject: Muslim and terrorism. But further more we find that it is about religion, about the fact that there is only one God. We find that the fundamentalist's of Islam are not tolerated by the Islam itself. We can see a dialog between a fundamentalist priest and a true one, despite the fact that they are dressed in ... white and black, suppose a lack of inspiration. We find that the destiny is inevitably. We find that there is love and forgiveness in both - in all of religions.

acting; well done. especially fabulous & flawless Haluk Bilginer;the Hadji, raised the limits of acting, theatrical! There were deep emotional scenes that will never forget. story; first half was so so but the second, perfect finish. never bored, it was fluent. was a great story! actions scenes; first half was unexpectedly good with the help of Hollywood assistance, there were no action scenes in the second half. cinematography; some disturbances was present, story covered it well. could be second looked. vs vs...

there were many İslamic message scenes, salving the bad impression over worlds eye. But never disturbing and artificial .

I would heartily recommend this movie to everyone; it is the best Turkish, one of the best movies I've seen in years. You will not be disappointed...

This movie spared all effort to put into perspective the authority pursuit of terrorists across the Atlantic. It successfully depicts that despite the claim that war against terrorism is not war against Islam, when vengeance underscore motivation, vindication transcends borders of respects. For a movie, it was well directed, well acted, and the presentation quite successfully moved the audience to experience the multitude of human emotions that filled and colored the characters portrayed in the movie. All in all, this movie is a gem that will give the audience an alternative scenario and perspective in the fight against terrorism, especially given the the theater is filled to the brim with the Hollywood version of anti-terrorism, that are often distorted and certainly one-sided.

This movie attempted to put into light the true Islam, albeit there are fundamental differences to what some may argue as to the 'truer' teachings of Islam would otherwise preach, as opposed to the more secular and somewhat liberated Islam as Turkey is practicing. While the attempt is commendable, the less informed audience may presume this is true of Islam. Case in point, Turkey is about the only country that accepts Muslims marrying Christian. But the well spoken message that a terrorist is automatically a non-Muslim, deserves an applaud.

Needless, this movie is not about teaching. And for the entertainment value, this movie is an outright winner.

NEW TORK'TA BES MINARE starts off in familiar fashion, as two Turkish cops travel to New York in pursuit of an alleged terrorist from Turkey who has been living in New York for thirty-seven years. There they encounter a group of FBI agents with innate prejudices against foreigners, and Muslims in particular. The two cops are drawn into a complex world, presided over by Islamic convert Danny Glover, where they seem apparently powerful to act. As the film unfolds, however, so the story becomes more complex. Hadji (Haluk Bilginer), ostensibly the prime suspect in the case - whose capture the Turkish cops are entrusted with - turns out to be completely different from what we, as the audience, expect of him. Director Mahsun Kirmizigul's film turns out to be a meditation on extremism, irrespective of religious difference: some Americans, as well as Turks, seem incapable of adopting either a moderate or a tolerant point of view. The film has a surprise ending, where we discover the true reason why Hadji went to America, and what kind of a person he actually was. Both noble yet self-aware, he remains a figure to admire in a complex world. NEW YORK'TA BES MINARE is an unexpectedly complex work, tautly filmed and grippingly told.

In Istanbul, terrorists abduct executives, blow-up the car of a journalist and plan five great attacks to the city. The violent police officer Firat Baran (Mahsun Kirmizigül) interrogates a terrorist and informs that the responsible for the attacks is the leader code-named Dajjal that lives in New York under the identity of Hadji Gümüs (Haluk Bilginer). In New York, the bigoted FBI Special Agent David Becker (Robert Patrick) is assigned to arrest the well respected religious and family man Hadji, who has a store in Soho, in his apartment in front of his wife Maria (Gina Gershon). The police officers Firat and Acar Dogan (Mustafa Sandal) travel to New York to bring Hadji back to Turkey.

While traveling to the airport under the custody of the two Turkish officers, Hadji is rescued by his friend Marcus (Danny Glover) and members of the Muslin community. Then, Firat and Acar are captured and Hadji proposes them to stay with him for a couple of days, and then he would turn himself in and travel to Istanbul with the police officers. Firat and Acar realize that Hadji is a good man, but they are forced to bring him to Turkey. Once in Turkey, Hadji is interrogated and the officers believe that he is innocent. But why Hadji was so afraid to return to Turkey?

"Five Minarets in New York" is a magnificent story of intolerance, bigotry, ignorance and feud. The screenplay is very well written without flaws and there are sharp dialogues, like for example, the conversation between Becker and Acar when they are introduced to each other at Becker's office. Further, the film uses few clichés and the plot is absolutely unpredictable.

The cast has good performances and the haunting music score is awesome. I decided to see this film with low expectations since the Brazilian title "Terrorismo em Nova Iorque" (meaning "Terrorism in New York") misleads the viewer. The grabber of this movie for me was Gina Gershon, an actress that I like a lot and I have not seen for a long time. She is almost fifty years old and is still a very beautiful woman. In the end I had a great surprise and I have watched a great film. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Terrorismo em Nova Iorque" ("Terrorism in New York")

Note: On 25 June 2016, I saw this wonderful film again.