fgfbach Reviews

Hope (1970)

Poverty and Ignorance ...

[8/10 · 7 August 2012]

Very realistic example of how much one could be so poor, illiterate and ignorant, the life told in the film is so real that you can't prevent yourself from watching it, even if the quality of the film is very bad, you just watch Cabbar (Yılmaz Güney) and see him dying step by step not finding enough money to buy a new horse (after one of his horses is hit and killed by a car) for his old horse cart wagon (fayton) where there are also Taxi-cabs working.... he loses his horse, and then his creditors stole the other one and sold it together with the "fayton" itself, and finally he has nothing left in his life except a hungry family, a gun, and a friend (great actor, Tuncel KURTİZ) who says there is a treasury near a river in Adana (a city in south middle-east of Turkey), so he goes there with him, accompanied by a healer (üfürükçü).. and faces up to his last hope in life .... The scene where Cabbar hits his wife and shouts at his crying children while smoking cigarette, and while he and his friend trying to dig their own house in the rain hoping to find a treasury, WORTH WATCHING !! the only negative thing for me is the final, and the decreasing tempo till its finished ...

The Road (1982)

the best "EDITING" Turkish film ever ...

[10/10 · 7 August 2012]

Here is a very extraordinary Turkish film with many different characters dealing with very different problems at the same time, one of the greatest examples of "cross-cutting" form, and whats more, beautifully done ! i have never seen such a strong edited Turkish film in my life and i seem to be unlikely to find any other, because people tend to watch easy things without too much difficulty. If you want to see pure reality of Turkish rural people in 80s, especially the ones suffer from jails because of murder etc, and if you like to see very interesting scenes from rural life, and finally, if you are crazy for strong edited films, then this one will give you a definite satisfaction ...

Tabutta Rövasata (1996)

Just a couple of "good" friends, and ... a peacock !!

[20 July 2012]

Mahsun (Ahmet Uğurlu) steals cars and sleeps inside only to save himself from the cold, and returns them when the sun shines .. he has no money, no profession, no future and no any intelligence, just a couple of friends and a peacock to talk to..he is no one in terms of what we expect from a man in present life, but he has everything in terms of what present life lacks of.. some scenes are very brave, drinking and pouring wine onto graveyard is neither something we tend to do nor have we seen before :) Mahsun's relation with the peacock worths watching, i think its one of the most interesting 3-5 scenes in Turkish Cinema, very close to be the first. I watched this film again and again, Ahmet Uğurlu performs his best work ever, this film shows us clearly that even he seems to be the right one for comedy films, he should have better not made any, he fits for such roles perfectly, one of the most dramatic and realistic films ever, a masterpiece from Derviş Zaim ...

Dry Summer (1963)

Harpiscord in a Turkish village film ???? :)))

[9/10 · 20 July 2012]

before i watched, I had not expected such a gripping and fascinating film, i think its because we all (Turks) are used to watching funny village films with full of comedy where we burst into laugh even one kills another but this film shows us the dark side of village people with their great will to stay alive while trying to get the water (or any other) they need for their districts. usually village people (still, but especially in 1960s) are supposed to be uneducated and carrying gun with them in case there's an attack from other village people, in that case we should not be criticizing why the man does not agree to give water to all his neighbours, its very normal if we consider not everyone has the same brain cells, that is as normal as why there was world wars before. We cannot ask why for this film and for these times because simply there are no rules and the most brave with a gun in hand may grab all and dominate all. I have 2 things in mind, the musics are very interesting, because if there is no action you hear traditional Turkish tunes, with "saz" (a stringed Turkish instrument) but when there is action, you hear something like Bach with harpiscord, that is realllyyy interesting for me to hear this instrument in a Turkish Village film :)) the second thing is that was it necessary to kill those animals ? i think no, the director (metin erksan) could have made it possible easily if he wanted to. Anyway, its a must watch film, not only because it won the first golden bear from Turkey, but, also because probably it deserved. you might like the film very much or you might hate i don't know, but you will not get bored that's a guarantee... (try the new edited version in u-tube, its really great and as if it was shot 10 years ago)

Zorba the Greek (1964)

Black & white, but its actually full of colours !!!

[9/10 · 19 July 2012]

a poor village man with a very good will and brain to invest, and another man ready to support him with his money, if not with his art.. One of the greatest black & white films ever, full of energy, many small but very effective details, high-class acting.. funny, sad, crazy, aggressive, sentimental and what's more, %100 realistic.. perfect decision for the place where the film was shot, some scenes are funnier than those so-called comedy films, the most effective scenes are where there is Irene Papas, rain and umbrella scene with her is perfect, another important thing is the positive political line of the film and its optimistic look at Greece-turkey problems (regarding the conditions then) a must watch and not-to-forget one ...

Köprü (1975)

very funny end ...

[4/10 · 15 July 2012]

it could have been one of the most dramatic Turkish films, but because of many funny mistakes its one of the most badly processed Turkish films with a very "funny" end ever made. towards the end of the film, you can't prevent yourself from grinning. actually they had a nice idea and powerful cast, but they killed the film by long and meaningless scenes, i burst into laugh when big brother (fikret hakan) cries out like "the bridge will burst when the sun comes" while there is already the sun and while shadows are around 1 meter ..... its like someone put a gun in the head of Şerif Gören (director) to finish the last quarter of the film in 10 minutes.... you can watch it if you like Kadir İnanır, but this film is a very big failure especially for its end ..

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)

the name of the film is so powerful, unlike the film itself ...

[6/10 · 14 July 2012]

why "once upon a time in anatolia" ? why this name ? NBC (the director) should have better given some other names like "silent faces" or "a night in anatolia" or "anatolian piece" etc... for me the most bizarre thing is the name, its as if NBC shot the film to be able to put this charismatic name, but very honestly the film does not deserve the name, its about some Turkish guys looking after a murder case together with their private life matters & questions following them behind, the first quarter is very slow and we have to watch 3 cars coming and going for minutes, and we have to watch them till they disappear or till they come and stop, no any camera movement, no music, and we have to watch the same boring heineke's "funny games" scenes, why NBC likes to make it so boring ? its cinema, but its like i am in a theater, also, again the same style like Kasaba, Uzak...many conversations from the start till the end but nothing special inside, for me the most effective part starts when lights go out at the house where they stayed at night, and when the girl starts serving tea.. i did not like the acting, yilmaz erdoğan (the police) has no any difference from his other roles he played before, even the accent and manneers are just the same and other guys are not so successful (except fırat tanış, the murderer), i did not see any real nature play, i feel the camera everywhere, there are many scenes open to discussion, that is good because otherwise NBC would not be himself, its the best thing about him that he forces us to think... its very good to think about what happens and ask many "whys?" like the very end of the film.. i did not like the film, but its another different look in the Turkish cinema history... nothing special for me though ...

The Small Town (1997)

have you ever seen a beautiful and extraordinary girl but says nothing?

[6/10 · 13 July 2012]

No need to talk about the story as there are many sentences around, this film is very good for me as long as i can see all from the eyes of the children, the rest, really i did not get any slightest feeling, the conversations are so poor that you do your best to stay concentrated & awake (especially if you watch it at night) actually i stopped watching it in the middle, but the next day i wanted to finish because i tried to persuade myself that i had watched it wrong :) the film is unique in Turkish cinema, and because of that i put it in a different place, i must congratulate NBC (the director) because of his serving that kind of out-of-line film in our history, but that cannot make it a good film alone... apart from my mostly negative comments above, the class scene (at the beginning where the boy enters class with snow all around his body and what happens after..) is very effective, i like it very much when i first saw the class scene on youtube, that i wanted to watch the film immediately, another thing is that i liked the dream scenes, so simple but so innocent, for my part, NBC has a very powerful photographer eye, but when you make all film full of that kind of scenes you make it rather slower and sometimes unavoidably boring, and he must definitely write more effective sentences, really they never grab me, its like a very beautiful and extraordinary girl but talking like my grandmom, to sum up the case, its a very extraordinary film but without something to go back and re-watch (except class scene)on the other hand i appreciate this film very much because it is not made for making money, otherwise it would have been less boring and probably NBC would have chosen some other cast out of his family members, he seems to made it for himself.

Kosmos (2009)

I am proud of Reha Erdem ....

[9/10 · 3 July 2012]

While almost all Turkish so-called directors/producers want to create something which can be understood easily, with the most popular way and scenarios, and with no any effort to bring something new to Turkish cinema.. this guy -on the contrary- prefers to walk towards very strong tides, he knows that this kind of films would not make him any more richer or more famous, as this film is not for %95 of Turkish people (hope i am not too much optimistic)...unfortunately our people tends to watch slow and easy-to-understand things, or so-called comedy films full of slang and cheap jokes, or films/soap operas full of out-of-line relations, there is no any preparation in acting nor any deep meaning in story, just cheap characters with poor conversations, nothing to edit, nothing to worry about...So, as a Turkish citizen, i must thank Reha Erdem for this incredible film, not only because i like this movie, but also because really i am proud of him as a Turkish director. I don't want to talk about the film, there are plenty of explanations, but, whatever is told, this film is a must-watch for Turkish People first because Reha Erdem made this film with many difficulties and has brought something new no doubt, there is no any other such film you can compare with, whats more, its really good.

Black Swan (2010)

simply the best of 2010

[10/10 · 7 March 2011]

Great start, great tempo, great tension, great acting, great development, great camera movements, and "almost" a great finish... . One of the best about the film is that you really feel as if you are Nina (Natalie Portman) in there actually practicing and playing the swan lake in the stage, fantastic camera angles with enough music. Aronofsky leaves the best part of the swan lake for the finish and it has a much better meaning to those who know the swan lake of Tchaikovsky because as one of those i waited for the main melody during the film and i got the best satisfaction at the very end (not considering some short passages like mobile phone melody etc) No need to criticise Natalie Portman, as she overcomed a very difficult role full of schizophrenia and sexual trials, her acting when she calls her mother about her winning the role of the swan is a forever generic. i could not forget the film even if 3 days passed and i still feel it. The only thing negative for me is that maybe -only maybe- the finish could have been more touchy, it is really simple comparing all the process. Anyway, even the finish affected me so much after some seconds of hesitations. . This is what people call "A masterpiece"...Worths watching couple of times, simply the best of 2010.

Spun (2002)

banging doors and starting engines...

[8/10 · 19 February 2011]

The film is about some crazy guys using dopes and some crazy guys making and selling dopes and some crazy policemen looking to bust those who sell and use, everyone and everything in the film is just so crazy that even this fact alone enough to take you inside and grab there till it ends. Be careful and not watch it with your family as i don't think your parents would like to see the guy with a sock in his penis, full naked, with a gun in his hand, coming from masturbating with the help of tele-sex service girl after getting dope. . If you like quick scenes with normally-not-necessary-details (you will see that some of the main characters are 'the doors' banging regularly and 'engines' in close range in every car scene) and full of edit films, you'll like this one for sure, you may even want to watch it more than once.. this film is said to have more than 5.000 edits, real fun if you like it (this film is nothing but a genius especially after watching 'elephant' of Gus Van Sant) i think the longest scene is when Ross makes the last phone call to Amy near bus station, up to 20 seconds non-stop...Also its great to watch Leguizamo (i first watched him in Carlito's way) with such a crazy role, don't even talk about The cook (M.Rourke).. . For me the only scene i got bored is when Ross is in the Car with Nikki,after she decides to leave The Cook, getting dope together with imaginative edits ,last some minutes. But thats a drop in a glass. . Musics are slow, country style, its like a 'break' in 3-4 times in the film. . crazy characters, simple story, powerful edit and a fantastic watch in one gulp, don't miss the fun...

La Femme Nikita (1990)

its a one night stand film....

[9/10 · 13 February 2011]

Its about a psycho girl who killed a policeman and later offered training to kill for secret services rather than go to prison, the film is perfect in most of the senses and especially for the very powerful and extraordinary story, it grabs you from the beginning and it ends up without giving you a hint that it would end which leaves you with a question in mind 'it could have been a little longer...' so its very successful.. but the only thing which disturbed me was the age of Nikita, she is 20 in the film but actually she is 30 in real life, so i never get the same strong feeling only for Nikita when i watched Mathilda in Leon, but you get used to it even if with some difficulty. music is used less but still the scenes are very powerful, a classical Luc Besson film, characters are very strong one by one, and each one has the ability to draw your attention.Another negative point for me is that there is no any scene that i would want to watch again with great appetite, its a one night stand film, you watch, you like very much, and you never forget...

American Beauty (1999)

too simple, not boring

[6/10 · 12 February 2011]

The film is about some American families with their own problems and the reflections to out of their houses, for me there is nothing to re-watch the DVD except one of the greatest love scenes i have ever seen in a film, the scene where the boy showed the girl the best film he ever made, a nylon bag dancing in the air trying to obey what the wind says, together with leaves, minutes before the snow as he says... the characters are extremely different and does not fit to usual life, (if any, its very rare), no music, no effects, no action, no any memorable and effective quotes, yet its a good film for one time. For me the good film needs to be watched again and again, i did not get this feeling in this film, despite Kevin Spacey and Wes Bentley's perfect performance, but the nylon bag scene is "forever" and something different. i liked that scene so much that i had a break in the middle of the film watching the same scene a couple of times.. watch it, but don't expect big things just because it won the Oscar...

Crash (I) (2004)

Oscar makes expectations higher

[7/10 · 12 February 2011]

The film is about ordinary people and important people's daily lives and strange coincidences between them, it's pure life actually and there's almost nothing which is not natural, (sorry, except the extreme behaviors of the iranian daddy), i watched the film in one gulp and did not get annoyed except the last 15 minutes which is too slow and predictable (same feeling like "no country for old men"), for me the music is so poor that it is one of the reasons for me why i did not give more than 7, its a good film, but music never supports the scenes and especially the final scenes are accompanied with a very simple random-radio song... and i think Oscar is a little bit too heavy, the film has not any action and almost all the scenes are in the same frequency, some poor music background and same kind of conversations, anyway, its a good film and worths watching once, probably you wouldn't want to watch it the second time as it does not have any hit scenes, or touchy quotes...or music.. watch it too see how ordinary life might be so complex around us...it'S pure life, but to see life on TV whereas you have the real one, is somewhat boring isn't it ?

Intacto (2001)

you are lucky too, if you did not watch it...

[9/10 · 10 February 2011]

i wish i did not watch it, so that i can re-watch it like the first time with the same feeling i got,so are you, if you have not watched it yet, its a great opportunity for you to see one of a great examples of how could anybody shot a beautiful film like that without making big or even small expenses.The film is about some very lucky guys saving their ass out of some big troubles, crashes, accidents and about their own competition between themselves to find who's the luckier one, and this luckier then goes to face off the luckiest one... The film is superb from the start till the end if you like the story as the most important matter in a film more than any other, no need to comment more, watch it.

Elephant (2003)

palme d'or ?? c'mon !!!

[1/10 · 9 February 2011]

Its about ordinary students, and with some extreme ones, which ends up with a slaughter at the end, boring, meaningless, very long scenes with nothing to watch. This film is like a very bad and very simple trial or pre-version of Babel or Crash in terms of the scenes and the passages and coincidences bla bla, i don't understand why a camera should follow a person from shoulder view in school or in a park for 10 minutes while there is nothing to see.. actually, if they want us to catch something, they can make us do it without making us annoyed or making us getting angry, i felt more annoyed than i felt after watching Funny Games of Heineke. I hardly stopped myself taking out the DVD and start playing PES 2011, i gave the chance till the end, sorry guys there is simply nothing, if it did not win the golden palm, i would not be so cruel in my comments... but... C'mon !!! Golden palm ?? i wonder what sort of films were there in 2003 palme d'or... The only thing i like about the film is moonlight sonata playing a couple of times in the film, but you can play that music with your dead grand-dad's face as screensaver and still it has a meaning because of the music, so why they bothered to shot all that s... !!! even a short film of this film would be too long, pls cancel this film from the film-history...

Honey (2010)

Have you ever met a very beautiful girl but very boring ?

[6/10 · 7 February 2011]

First of all i am a Turk, what's more, i like honey and milk very much !!! so this reality will affect my comment of course, i am not sure what would i say if the film was for example from India or Pakistan or Malaysia etc. Probably i would give 3/10, sorry but that's it. The film attracts my attention because it is simply real life, and all you see might be happening at the same time somewhere in north of Turkey. i am glad to see that, this kind of films are still being made, i wouldn't like that all directors go for Avatar,2012,inception or such films which have %80 computer technology. This film is a real escape for everyone who is bored of watching what is more popular nowadays in cinema. The film is very slow, like the nature itself in the film, for me, there is no point in settling down the cameras and microphones in the middle of nature and record it, for documentary of course the remote controller is set to national geographic, but not for a film. but this film is made of %80 nature and its quite awaiting for the eternity. some of you even could easily fall asleep when watching, which is -i think- not the aim of the director Kaplanoğlu. There are no any hit quotes in mutual dialogs, very simple and -unfortunately- without the accent of this region, it may seem nothing for a foreign watcher, but its very bad for a Turkish one. Also personally the festival in a large valley -towards the end of the film- destroys the quiet and dreamy atmosphere of the film. There are some symbols in honey, dead bees etc, but these are a little bit meaningless without some very powerful quotes. The father (erdal Beşikçioğlu) is a right choice but i cant say the same thing for the mother. The acting of Yusuf (the boy) worths watching. And there are very nice scenes showing Yusuf is waiting for his father. But please let's be realistic, anyone who goes to the same district with a hand-camera could have some nice shots whether or not he is professional. For me the main actor in this film is Nature.But i would like to thank to Kaplanoğlu who give it a chance. Watch it, but never watch it because it won the Golden Bear.

Léon: The Professional (1994)

one of the most powerful film in terms of very strong characteristics in each one

[9/10 · 7 February 2011]

A tiny quick memento about the director before i start my comment ; This film has a special meaning to me (which i realized after i watched it), as a newcomer, after Angel-A, i decided to watch Leon, and after the film i started to check what other films were there from Luc Besson, and i was very much surprised when i saw SUBWAY which was the first film i saw in cinema when i was around 10 years old, thanks to my uncle my cinema-career had already started with such a powerful director. Regarding the film, The first impression for me about the film is that the characters are so powerful that each one grabs you till the scene changes, even those who appear not more than some minutes or even seconds.. there is a surprising low-tempo in the middle of the film which - i think- prepares us to the final shot, the music and effects are used in almost every scene, it may absurd to say but this film is like a mixture of a clockwork orange and taxi driver, the characters are very crazy and Mathilda (Natalie Portman) reminded me of Iris (Jodie Foster), The first 30 minutes is a complete master piece, tension is so high that you feel you are in the film witnessing the slaughter in the apartment walking in the corridor, i hardly remember any other film which takes me to the deepest level so powerful and effective (old boy, sympathy for lady vengeance), but i must say that i disliked the music plays before the final shot when Mathilda and Leon seen together for the last time, i don't like too much repetition in Music, and that scene disturbed me because of this, anyway, from the start to the end its one of the craziest yet one of the most sentimental one, get a glass of milk, water your plants and start to watch.