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This 4 minute short animation of Andrzej Baranski depicts powerfully what art or the artist itself is able to do with the world around him.

Could be a 10/10 with better music.

It also evokes thoughts about current media world: it is now too easy, if you have the mass tools under your control, to perform an execution without a trial.

It looks like a good intro for media-press courses at universities.

You should watch this gem.

verba volent scripta manent

Spoken words blow with the wind - but what is written will remain.

It would be quite better to criticize this short production in the context of the great depression, that had wide consequences in the thirties. Otherwise, it's really too easy to put some tags like 'ordinary' or 'mean'.

The thirties in the States was lived rather polarized in the sense of social classes and this situation surely created its mirror images in the senses of various kind of artistic representations. Steiner, whom the frames of photography became not enough fruitful during that extraordinary period when masses marched, moved to make the movies of these masses. With the start of the 2nd WW and when the war economy absorbed many jobless masses in arms production in the States, the marching masses were no more there. And, we do not know any film of Steiner made after that era. Extraordinary periods leave extraordinary performances, thoughts and works in parallel; this movie is more understood when considered around this point.

Also an important point which comes up with Pie in the Sky is that, that Steiner refused practically just to document what was going on, he looked more the artistic way, like with his photography, and tried to tell the well known social stories his, the more indirect way. From this point of view, Pie in the Sky is a great success.

Religion and the relation of hungry, jobless masses with state-driven-religion is the main theme of this movie. The success in directing is located here: Steiner masterfully managed to make a satire out of this subject that smells much like 'our rulers, the priest, those having those cars, those in wealth have their pie ready when they wake up'. But yours is taken away just when you awaken. "The Lord had given, the Lord has taken away". You will have it though, when you die. Jobless, homeless and still faithful. Yes, it's possible. It's the way people are ruled still today, either in western or eastern, northern or southern countries. Just the texture changes: it is either Islam or Christianity.

An f word: Demirkubuz is maybe the only director in nowadays Turkey, who bothers himself with the everyday life, or life in general, of the so-called damned. This is one of the most obvious features of his filmography. Lives that are hidden behind the curtains, which go on when 'we', the 'ordinary' people sleep or work, or lives which we read about in the newspapers and blame (much more the case) or appreciate them. Lives that are not familiar with some words like big money, stocks, career, future plans, fame or how it is called in Turkey: pacayi siyirmak (similar to get off the hook). Those characters do not have or make plans for the next few months: they try to live the next day through, and as in Masumiyet, some decide to not to. There are always spontaneously opening doors in life, and it depends on you as the observer, or the reader-watcher of those "far away lives" to try to understand or to tell between seeing and looking. Masumiyet is a lecture for this, too.

The acting: Haluk Bilginer, one of the most famous and also well playing actors of Turkey really had better performances. Derya Alabora, quite well acting and let me no words to say. And, Guven Kirac. You can observe how a talented actor can act. He is that successful in acting in this movie that his playing builds up a big shadow over the whole scene going on through this film. He and the others mentioned are quite fine and professionally acting, which gives this film a taste of artificiality; something you might understand when you watch Kader (2006). The Story: both at the same time: minimalist and extraordinary. An important critic of TV in our everyday life is mixed in this descriptive narration. The directing: superb. Demirkubuz, might be regarded as a bridge between Dogma "philosophy" and Italian neo-realism. But certain scenes exist which interrupt the fluency of the film. When Yusuf (Guven Kirac) and the little girl (also referenced unnecessarily to Chaplin's The Kid in the film) arrive in Ankara and go to the place called KralDisco, there is a song in the background of the kurdish music group "Koma Amed". One can think that this music comes from inside of that place, but a sort of music which is totally unrelated to such places. This scene turns a trivia to a goof.

Finally: Demirkubuz managed to open an anti-heroic era in Turkish cinema, after the long lag of Yilmaz Guney (ceased in 1984). Lives of the outsiders defined without abstractions is one of his main routes. And, god thanks, he is doing this. This is a movie about people who have nothing else to offer except love and solidarity in the very bottom. About people living in a society where there is a sharp line between interests such as daily stocks figures or supply of daily bread.