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hasank
Reviews
No (2012)
political idealism in a mass media era
This movie is brilliant and it is relevant today as never before. I don't think it praises or prioritizes political marketing over political idealism or grassroots activism. It is a very realistic depiction of politics in mass media era -a bit cynic maybe- (Surely, the yes vote became possible in Chile not just because of a single ad. But this is a movie=dramatization). A viewer can and should watch a movie critically. She has to learn to evaluate and fill the absences herself; see the underlying points and judge whether it ultimately tries to destroy the reality, mislead us or not.
For me, this is quite an intelligent, thought-provoking, self-reflexive product. And, it is especially relevant for us, living in Turkey, at this very moment, before a referendum in which our leader wants to establish a one-man rule through one.
Amour fou (2014)
laughed so hard
I haven't laughed so hard for a long time.
that is the greatest mockery, pure parody I have come across for a long time (watch it together with the Lobster-love as another convention-, even funnier than that).
that romantic poet was such a blockhead, probably as much as everyone and every institution around him. that is laughter, looking backwards from nowadays.
on a more serious base, that is proper history of manners a la Norbert Elias. the issue here is historical sociology and psychology and class dynamics; not the biographical-individual pain of creation or romantic aesthetics.
Mustang (2015)
important film
Mustang tackles with Turkey's most important problem, the issue of woman in society: her secondary place and the patriarchal chains around her, due to culture, politics, religion and socio-economic development. Therefore, the director's effort should be viewed as most welcome and needed attempt. I think the director manages to show the virtual prison experienced by all sort of women in our society, through the case of those sisters.
However, and despite the director's best intention, movie in general fails to deliver an authentic picture of everyday life and details in the country. Oppression of girls and their youthful desires is correctly depicted as a whole, but done in somewhat unrealistic ways. You get the feeling that the director, the script writer, and even the actors remain quite "foreigners" to the situations they are interested. Some are accusing the director as orientalist (playing to Western gaze) because of these failings. I don't agree, but it would be better if they had worked more on the everyday life and details of the countryside where the film occurs (like better local dialogue, better acquaintance of local customs).
In short, I found Mustang a very important movie, but with its own problems. Technically it does not offer something novel, but it is courageous directly to point the gender issue in a very conservative society.
Kod Adi K.O.Z. (2015)
I actually watched this just out of curiosity.
This movie deals with the political machinations of a secret group (i.e. Gülen movement) inside Turkish state institutions, which is said to be aiming to usurp legitimate Turkish state power (Erdoğan government) and therefore undermine its leadership in Islamic world. This group disguises itself as a religious movement, but in fact it is principally controlled and guided by Western (British) powers and foreign interests. It has secret followers in top echelons of public institutions, military, judiciary, big private companies, Istanbul stock exchange, etc. It has its own capital and schools. Its members blindly obey the commands of their religious seniors, even in situations hostile to the nation and religion (assassinations, manipulations, espionage, blackmail, treachery etc.)
Overall, it is a simplistic, ugly, disgusting AKP propaganda. It is about Erdoğan's fight against his former ally, Gülen movement –not an innocent organisation itself. It reflects the political culture of Turkey (especially rightwing Islamists and nationalists) in terms of prevalence of conspiracy theories, xenophobia and anti- Westernism. It shows the pitiful mentality, limited capacity of Islamist worldview and its artistic vision. It shows the arrogant ambitions of AKP policies and ideology (personality cult, statolatry, neo-Ottomanism, leadership in Middle East, involvement in Syria civil war, authoritarian domestic policies, crushing the leftist/secular opposition inside). It propagates unashamed lies about Istanbul Gezi events of 2013. It hides the responsibility of atrocious acts of the government. It hides the claims and evidences of corruption of the its rulers and families.
Most of the people are comparing this garbage with Nazi propaganda films. But beware, you cannot expect cinematography, script, acting and montage on par with Leni Riefenstahl for this quasi-parody. This film is lowest of the low, so it is unnecessary to spend time on speaking of its cinematic qualities.
I am certain that creators of this garbage do judge the IMDb rating of this movie as a conspiracy of Western world against them! Haha!
Interstellar (2014)
hate rather fan boys
just hate Nolan; or Nolan-lovers should I say! constant bombardment of science humbug (correspondence to theory is not the point). contrast it with the silence of 2001! contrast it with the film it tries to imitate. Now an average sci-fi story is elevated into the rank of greatest films, without even a solid cinematic base, except those visuals and effects that become a standard technical expertise.
You science-geniuses all needed this information overload to accept a not-even average story as a cinematic masterpiece. How I hope the days come when this movie shall share its honorable place in the dustbin of history alongside Battlefield Earth or Armageddon etc., when the Nolan fanboys and its industrial franchise fade away.