Bir Baskadir

I am an Anglo Canadian for context. This series is among the finest I have seen in a long time. This gem needs no polishing. Every aspect is absorbing without any pretentions. Despite the cultural setting of multiple slices of Turkish society enveloped in secular and traditional tensions; each of the characters was well developed and very real. The interactions between the characters are so brilliantly crafted they elevate the drama beyond national borders. The actors are completely new to me but have become instantly memorable. A follow-up series? Just do it!

Turkish cinema has produced 2 phenomenal work of art in last decade. First one, Persona (2018), which was the rebirth, silver lining of the long dead performance arts, and Ethos showed us that Persona was just a beginning for a lot to come.

I never expected to see a Turkish tv series like this in my life. As an Arab, I've seen nothing Turkish but soap operas, and that had a role in my perception of Turkish production.

First of all, I watched the trailer in the day it was released 12/11/20 and I thought it was a movie, nonetheless, its style grabbed me, so I decided to watch it. After I watched the first episode I was shocked because of it, all I can say about that episode is one word, perfect. The first episode sat the bar high for me, and after I finished the series I wanted to write few things about it. I loved its style, the direction was perfect, you can notice the influence of Wes Anderson in it, which is a good thing, and not only in the direction, but in all other aspects, including writing, cinematography, the wide scene which then turns into a closeup through quick zoom, and the style of comedy. Speaking of comedy, this series has a lot of it, and better than comedy, it has a smart comedy, the one that makes you laugh just by the settings of the scene or by the clumsy behaviour of the characters which always felt real, or even when some characters meet other characters you cant help but laugh. There are a lot of stories, and through these stories you get to know a lot about modern Turkey and the Turkish society, and each story had a reason to exist. The colours were so beautiful, it's probably the most beautiful series I've ever seen and one of the most beautiful works, this was because of the spectacular cinematography and production design, and because of the selection of the music. As for acting, every actor did his job in the best way possible, so, I wouldn't want to talk about a certain actor or actress and leave the rest; because they're all perfect, I who is an actor-wannabe will always look up to their work in this art of work and take them as role models. This is the thing about this series, there is a company that's willing to produce such art, and creative creators and actors who are all talented and hardworking in their job, and the result was a masterpiece. I hope I said everything that I have in my heart for this series. I wish to see more from the whole team. Thank you for this masterpiece.

As a Greek I can relate to both modern and traditional aspects of contemporary Turkey. It was not much different here 60-70 years ago. But I couldn't expect to be confronted with such a magnetising masterpiece that I couldn't let off, watching all 8 episodes in one go. The actors are brilliant without exception, camera is partially silently shocking, images captured are impregnated in a spectator's head, the story will bring tears to your eyes but most important: not one character is good or bad. They are all both good and bad, making them exceptionally human.

So, who is this director? Who are these actors? Why can't we have more from them?

Do you want to be more knowledgable on Turkey? Watch this series. A deep humanitarian story, excellent acting, universal questions, beautifully told!