Newcomer takes a peek at children of other side
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Emrah Güler
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 09, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Turkish documentary and TV director Aydın Bulut’s debut feature ’Başka Semtin Çocukları’ (Children of the Other Side) takes a vivid look at the dire consequences of male bonding and machismo in the ghettos of Istanbul
"Başka Semtin Çocukları" (Children of the Other Side) is a skillful and heartrending movie in so many levels, it’s hard to believe that it’s directed by a newcomer.
But a quick Google search will show that Aydın Bulut is not a newcomer to his subject matter, characters and the craft. "Gazi Mahallesi" (The Gazi Outskirts) and "Ihlamurlar Altında" (Under the Linden Trees) are two distinct pieces credited to Bulut’s name. The former is a documentary, filmed more than a decade ago, on the armed fight between the inhabitants of Istanbul’s Gazi district and the police in 1995 that led to the death of 17 people. And the second one is a popular TV series that ran between 2005 and 2007, an astute look at the class differences in the ever-growing Istanbul.
"Başka Semtin Çocukları" is an impressive feature film, taking its proud place as the latest item in a filmography leading quietly to an auteur’s cinema. The place, once again, is the outskirts of Gazi in Istanbul, the ghettos heavily populated with Alevis. The infamous Alevi-Sunni clash that put the place onto the cultural and political agenda more than a decade ago is set as a shadow hovering in the distance throughout the movie.
But there’s much more to the despair and frustration of its residents. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for the young men of Gazi whose parents and grandparents have left their hometowns decades ago for a better future and presumed welfare. As in any other ghetto of the big cities in Turkey, the system has failed to include its citizens into the economic, and social cycles, facilitating the creation of a new class, stuck between the rural and the urban.
Romeo and Juliet of the ghettos
Semih (Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu) returns from his military service in Southeast Turkey, still haunted by the images of the guerilla war. He returns to Istanbul to an even sadder reality, to the funeral of his younger brother Veysel (İsmail Hacıoğlu), found dead in a dumpster. As Semih delves deeper into the murder of his brother, the film takes the audience back to the events leading into Veysel’s death
Through flashbacks and present day events, we are introduced to the intricate dynamics of male bonding and a machismo destructive for the men themselves and those around them. We see Veysel and his friend İsmail (last year’s Golden Orange winner for Best Supporting Actor, Volga Sorgu) working in the local textile factory, wandering aimlessly in the streets, inching toward total despair for a better life. Veysel finds himself falling for the belle of the outskirts, Saadet (İpek Yaylacıoğlu). But theirs is a doomed relationship from the start, the Romeo and Juliet of Gazi, as Veysel is an Alevi and Saadet, a Sunni. Her overprotective brother (Serkan Keskin) does his best to make life as miserable as possible for Veysel.
Doomed children of the other side
The two boys find jobs in the local bar, working for Kerim (Bülent İnal), part bar-owner, part real estate mogul, part Mafia. In another story, we see another post war trauma in Gürdal (Ertan Saban), the local sociopath, worked up over losing his girlfriend Gül (Özge Özder) before military. As the threads among these men loosen, the events lead to fatal conclusions for many. When frustration and machismo come together, they don’t make a pleasant couple.
But a quick Google search will show that Aydın Bulut is not a newcomer to his subject matter, characters and the craft. "Gazi Mahallesi" (The Gazi Outskirts) and "Ihlamurlar Altında" (Under the Linden Trees) are two distinct pieces credited to Bulut’s name. The former is a documentary, filmed more than a decade ago, on the armed fight between the inhabitants of Istanbul’s Gazi district and the police in 1995 that led to the death of 17 people. And the second one is a popular TV series that ran between 2005 and 2007, an astute look at the class differences in the ever-growing Istanbul.
"Başka Semtin Çocukları" is an impressive feature film, taking its proud place as the latest item in a filmography leading quietly to an auteur’s cinema. The place, once again, is the outskirts of Gazi in Istanbul, the ghettos heavily populated with Alevis. The infamous Alevi-Sunni clash that put the place onto the cultural and political agenda more than a decade ago is set as a shadow hovering in the distance throughout the movie.
But there’s much more to the despair and frustration of its residents. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for the young men of Gazi whose parents and grandparents have left their hometowns decades ago for a better future and presumed welfare. As in any other ghetto of the big cities in Turkey, the system has failed to include its citizens into the economic, and social cycles, facilitating the creation of a new class, stuck between the rural and the urban.
Romeo and Juliet of the ghettos
Semih (Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu) returns from his military service in Southeast Turkey, still haunted by the images of the guerilla war. He returns to Istanbul to an even sadder reality, to the funeral of his younger brother Veysel (İsmail Hacıoğlu), found dead in a dumpster. As Semih delves deeper into the murder of his brother, the film takes the audience back to the events leading into Veysel’s death
Through flashbacks and present day events, we are introduced to the intricate dynamics of male bonding and a machismo destructive for the men themselves and those around them. We see Veysel and his friend İsmail (last year’s Golden Orange winner for Best Supporting Actor, Volga Sorgu) working in the local textile factory, wandering aimlessly in the streets, inching toward total despair for a better life. Veysel finds himself falling for the belle of the outskirts, Saadet (İpek Yaylacıoğlu). But theirs is a doomed relationship from the start, the Romeo and Juliet of Gazi, as Veysel is an Alevi and Saadet, a Sunni. Her overprotective brother (Serkan Keskin) does his best to make life as miserable as possible for Veysel.
Doomed children of the other side
The two boys find jobs in the local bar, working for Kerim (Bülent İnal), part bar-owner, part real estate mogul, part Mafia. In another story, we see another post war trauma in Gürdal (Ertan Saban), the local sociopath, worked up over losing his girlfriend Gül (Özge Özder) before military. As the threads among these men loosen, the events lead to fatal conclusions for many. When frustration and machismo come together, they don’t make a pleasant couple.