Takva

The film is about a devoted man to God and his rise in a Way of Islamic society. The film focuses on an ordinary man's Islamic life to his interference with money affairs and the results of it. The psychological state of the man is analyzed from sociological way as well.

The film is great from two main aspects. The first aspect is Erkan Can's wonderful role play. Enormous acting performance. Just unbelievable. The other great side is, the film is shot at real historical places of Istanbul.

The only weakness of the film is the end part of it. The enormous entrance the psychological and sociological perfectness in the beginning was not given in as good as beginning.

Moreover as a philosopher I would like to comment that this film gives a side of Islamica philosophy both its sociology.

Takva attempts to achieve two things; It is a philosophical drama, and also a quasi-documentary. Putting the main character in a low-profile religious order, and in a ethical conundrum, the movie makers hit two birds with one reel.

Religious orders and their role in the growing politicization of Islam in Turkey is a sensitive subject. The movie refrains from saying much politically, or the characters do not have lines that can be interpreted in such a manner. However, 'Takva the documentary' speaks volumes.

Takva has good actors such as Erkan Can (the lead), a straightforward but engaging story, and a lot to learn from.

It's a good movie to get know a profile of the religious Muslims, to get know "sects" and the amazing, fascinating worship of them. To find answers to the questions like; "how does a sect process and what's happening inside of a sect?". But it doesn't give a political message, a movie that "sit on the fence". But I congratulate the director for at least his bravery to submit these kind of sources and to try to answer some questions or to ask some questions. The main actor Erkan Can has a great performance.

Besides the musics that are made by Replicas, (Gokce Akcelik) are great. Enjoy...

Saw Takva last night at The Sydney Film Festival 2007, utterly compelling, driven by Erkan Can's fine performance as Muharrem, a devout Muslim in contemporary Istanbul. Previous posts outline more.

I was fascinated by the way Takva engages with contemporary Turkey, a notionally democratic and secular society since the 1920s. Yes, Muharrem has an existential crisis, also familiar to audiences of Shrek 3 in another way ... dare I mention it, by profane comparison.

I suspect Takva has a satirical streak, once you imagine the dervishs's lodge could be the current government of Turkey.

Am I right? Responses from Turkish members most welcome.

This is a rare example of an inner look at the Islamic sects and their organizations. Although the movie is a fiction, at times you may think you are watching a documentary of a Turkish Islamic sect and its rituals.

Tha main character, Muharrem is a devout and simple believer and a follower of the sect. He gets selected by his Efendi (sheikh of the sect) for collecting the rent money of the sect. This purely financial act affects Muharrem morally and psychologically.

Erkan Can plays an excellent Muharrem. Guven Kirac (Rauf the vice sheikh) and Meray Ulgen (the sheikh) are very very believable in their roles.

This probably one of the finest examples of the new Turkish cinema.