yavuztumer

Here are some small notes:

Firstly, I would like to say that I really liked the depiction of Satan in this film. Frankly, it was the best Satan I ever saw in a movie, even better then the one in Bergman's "Seventh Seal". Simple, not too exaggerated, neither male nor female, has some sort of strange charm but at the same time scary.

I think the crucifixion sequence was way too long, especially the "walking with the cross" scene. After one point, it became really boring.

Great cinematography by the way, some of the shots were quite reminiscent of religious oil paintings depicting scenes from the Bible. It was quite impressive.

Of course, another impressive thing was the use of Aramaic and Latin languages. Finally an American filmmaker decided to make his characters speak the language of the time and setting of the film instead of making them speak American English!

All in all, despite having clear elements of Christian propaganda, it still is a worth-seeing film.

(By the way, those who are sensitive, beware the violence the film contains!)

First of all, I should point out that I really enjoyed watching this documentary. Not only it had great music in it, but the shots and the editing were also wonderful. However, all these positive things about the film does not change the fact that it plays to the orientalist "East meets West" cliché that bothers many Turks like myself. Okay, this film tells the story of traditional and contemporary Turkish music in a very stylish manner which is a good thing, something that would show ignorant Europeans and Americans that this country is not just about murdering Armenians and Kurds. However, the problematic of the film is that it looks at what it defines as "east" from the eyes of the "west". I mean, like one jazz musician says in the film, maybe there is no east and west, maybe it is just a myth, a lie created by the ruling leaders of "western" countries in order to keep fear and hostility alive so that they could continue ruling the world and "keep the cash flowing"?

Why don't you think about that?

This film, adapted from a novel by well-known Turkish novelist Adalet Agaoglu, is a perfect depiction of Turks living in Germany, their problems of identity, the situation of being in-between, i.e. neither being completely Turkish nor being completely German. Of course, Ilyas Salman's amazing acting, depicting a desperate man and his efforts to protect his beloved yellowish Mercedes (which he calls "Sarikiz"-"blonde girl") from the harsh conditions of Turkey is also something that contributes to this.

All in all, a must see for audiences of Turkish comedy and diasporic cinema.

P.S: If you like this title, I can also highly recommend another Tunc Okan film, called "Otobus".