Ata Demirer, renowned Turkish stand-up comedian and artist, came up with an interesting project; humbly translated as "Tiger of Berlin". It is the naive story of a 2nd (maybe 3rd?) generation Turkish guest worker in Germany, who has opted a boxing career over everything else. At first glance, it is a simple comedy drama setup between Berlin-Turkey. Nonetheless, Ata's nearly perfect representation of a Germanized-Turkish character (or vice versa), gives the movie its distinguished character. Anybody who spent some time with Turkish-Germans will smile, when they hear expressions such as "I looked a movie" instead of "I watched a movie", or "I wrote an exam" instead of "I take an exam" The script is simple, but intact. Characters are shallow, but carefully developed and acted. Story does not offer to many surprises, but it is absolutely funny. Unfortunately, the movie has not too much to offer for non-Turkish speakers, as well as for those who never had a German-Turkish friend. After all, it is probably the best movie Ata has ever made.
Review of Berlin Kaplani
