Hammam, le bain turc

This film is really a very subtle, literate story. Nothing hits you over the head, there's nothing to win or lose at the end, it's just characters and events unfolding and interacting within a languid pace. It's really a beautiful film, both in scenery, sentiment and depth of feeling.

If you've ever visited Istanbul you should see this film. I expected to see the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque right off, but you never see them-- the film chooses to see Istanbul through the charming back alleys and everyday people. The traditions of the country and the warmth of the people are ever-present in this film. Istanbul itself is like a character here, and its special charms are at the center of the story. If you have visited there, you will understand why the characters become so captivated.

But this film only uses Istanbul and the Hamam as a vehicle for showing its characters ways of finding happiness and tranquility in one's life. The story is much more general and eternal. It shares that quality with literature-- it is at once about these specific characters, and also about everyone, everywhere.

Here in New York this film is called "Steam" and is being sold as a major homoerotic experience. It's sad that they have to cheapen this wonderful movie in that way, and people going expecting to get their jollies will be woefully disappointed-- and entirely missing the point.

One tends to think of Turkish/Italian cinema as not being as technically sophisticated, but this film is vary carefully and intelligently written and directed. This really is one of those special, beautiful movies, not as flashy or intense as some, but I think I will remember this film for a long time.

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A special film For the side of Istanbul, for delicat portrait of love, for inspired performances, for flavors and words and tension and the meet with a form of happiness out of any definition. A film about love. The flavors of cinnamon, the clash between worlds, the precise portrait of emotions are real admirable. Sure, a visual delight but, more important, wise exploration of an universe great for its subtle beauty and splendid delicacy. A film who I love. For the seeds remaining after its end and for the flowers of memories about it. Alessandro Gassman gives, in authentic manner, a profound seductive performance.

Marketing this as gay-themed is sort of misleading. There is an important gay relationship in it, but it's handled in a subtle manner. The Turkish family is either tolerant or in denial, (probably both). Reminds me a little of the Italian film 'I Am Love', which also takes a dramatic turn near the end. Prior to that, though, the story moves rather slowly. The quality of the lighting and the DVD itself is not great. I hope someday it will be 're-digitized'. Anyway, the film is remarkable for portraying a quietly ambivalent acceptance of homosexuality in a culture that is non-western and cosmopolitan: Istanbul. And interestingly, it suggests that the quietly ambivalent acceptance has been going on for a very long time. (10/2012)

I went to see this film knowing nothing about it whatsoever. From the first heart-wrenching musical note to the heart-breaking end ... I was mesmerized.

The actors are beautiful. They exude intelligent sexuality (if there is such a thing). There is the sense of being entrapped in a circular miserable existence with all the money and the necessities of life but no soul... A married couple works out their banal existence; evolves.

The magic of Turkey and the showering of loving hospitality is reflective of the people from that part of the world. This film is honest, romantic, sensual, intelligent, serene and detailed. This film should have won it's well-deserved Oscar!

So let's restrict ourselves to the most beautiful shot. The closing scene, I think. Here we find yet another of the main characters we have started to know throughout the story, being sucked into the gentle, demanding, chaotic, smoky, colourful and slow whirlpool that is this movie's Istanbul. An antique cigarette holder, a loved-one's sweater, and a calm, steady gaze over the Bosphorus. Representative, in its way, for the entire film. Understatement at its finest.