Not-so-fresh apples of Raşit Çelikezer’s movie
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Emrah Güler
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 16, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Director of some of the acclaimed and much-loved Turkish sitcoms, Raşit Çelikezer, takes his craft to the big screen in ’Gökten 3 Elma Düştü’ (Three Apples Fell from the Sky), with disappointing results as he hurries his underdeveloped characters into a slur of heavy drama
A growing interest among audiences for Turkish cinema, significant increases in funding for new productions and emerging new production companies have all marked the revival of Turkish cinema in the last year.
More than half of the Turkish movies in the last six months have been the debut features either from newcomers or renowned names taking their shots at cinema.
Last week’s "Gökten 3 Elma Düştü" (3 Apples Fell From the Sky) is the latest of such films, with experienced TV director and writer Raşit Çelikezer taking his craft to the big screen. Although Turkish audiences might not be familiar with Çelikezer’s name, they definitely have watched his work on TV in the last decade. His name is synonymous with such hit sitcoms like "Çocuklar Duymasın" and "Çocuklar Ne Olacak?"
The common Turkish word in both of his famous sitcoms, "çocuklar" means "kids," and Çelikezer puts another kid in the center of his movie. Çelikezer feels good working around stories about children and their relations with adults, and in his debut feature he apparently wants to walk sure-footed as he directs, writes, and produces. The kid here is Ali (İsmail Hacıoğlu, a popular name in TV and cinema), a confused teenager, and an unabashed petty thief who travels to Istanbul to meet with his estranged grandfather. The movie begins with Ali getting all the cash he needs from the sleeping passengers in the bus on his way to Istanbul. The grandfather does not seem to take it very well when his grandson shows up out of the blue, shutting the door to his befuddled face.
A recent widow and a retired general, the grandfather Recep (Köksal Engür), we soon see, tries his best to maintain the military discipline he so was used to in his daily routine and personal relations. As he continues his daily walkabout between his home, the grocery store, and the little caf by the sea, Ali follows him around like a lost puppy, spending the nights in the stairs of his grandfather’s apartment. Ali is a grandson whom he hasn’t seen before, reminding him of Ali’s mother, the daughter he’s been estranged from for two decades. As the silent guerilla war between the grandfather and son continues with neither of them intending to give up any time soon, we are introduced to the third central character of the movie. The high-class prostitute Nilgün, another resident of the apartment Recep is not keen to have living in his world. Nilgün (Bennu Yıldırımlar) pushes the boundaries of our suspension of disbelief as she is introduced as a well-articulated prostitute with a university degree.
Nilgün goes on with her daily life, taking new customers from her stereotypical madam, and slowly falling for a sleazy bank manager, while the grandfather and grandson begin bonding, driven mostly by their sheer loneliness. The interchanging relationships among the three take unexpected turns as the movie moves toward a dramatic climax.
Falling short on the screen
The story of "Gökten 3 Elma Düştü" sounds great for a movie, and would definitely make a great TV series. However, it falls short on the big screen. Çelikezer does not invest in his characters, probably used to developing them over the course of many TV episodes. The characters stay dwarfed in the face of the unique challenges and relationships in their lives. Each of them, we are informed in not-so-subtle ways, go through their inner turmoil and in the course of the movie, each of them faces a life-altering breakthrough. But these are never left to the audience for them to discover in the pleasant experience of movie watching.
The unfolding of events and the characters soon turn into clichs, the acting soon going haywire before our eyes. The rigidity of the retired general, the golden heart of the prostitute, and the teenage rebellion of the boy are all given in sequences of such clichs, after some point the audience no longer cares for any of the characters. In a plethora of new Turkish movies in theaters, the apples should be last on the list.
More than half of the Turkish movies in the last six months have been the debut features either from newcomers or renowned names taking their shots at cinema.
Last week’s "Gökten 3 Elma Düştü" (3 Apples Fell From the Sky) is the latest of such films, with experienced TV director and writer Raşit Çelikezer taking his craft to the big screen. Although Turkish audiences might not be familiar with Çelikezer’s name, they definitely have watched his work on TV in the last decade. His name is synonymous with such hit sitcoms like "Çocuklar Duymasın" and "Çocuklar Ne Olacak?"
The common Turkish word in both of his famous sitcoms, "çocuklar" means "kids," and Çelikezer puts another kid in the center of his movie. Çelikezer feels good working around stories about children and their relations with adults, and in his debut feature he apparently wants to walk sure-footed as he directs, writes, and produces. The kid here is Ali (İsmail Hacıoğlu, a popular name in TV and cinema), a confused teenager, and an unabashed petty thief who travels to Istanbul to meet with his estranged grandfather. The movie begins with Ali getting all the cash he needs from the sleeping passengers in the bus on his way to Istanbul. The grandfather does not seem to take it very well when his grandson shows up out of the blue, shutting the door to his befuddled face.
A recent widow and a retired general, the grandfather Recep (Köksal Engür), we soon see, tries his best to maintain the military discipline he so was used to in his daily routine and personal relations. As he continues his daily walkabout between his home, the grocery store, and the little caf by the sea, Ali follows him around like a lost puppy, spending the nights in the stairs of his grandfather’s apartment. Ali is a grandson whom he hasn’t seen before, reminding him of Ali’s mother, the daughter he’s been estranged from for two decades. As the silent guerilla war between the grandfather and son continues with neither of them intending to give up any time soon, we are introduced to the third central character of the movie. The high-class prostitute Nilgün, another resident of the apartment Recep is not keen to have living in his world. Nilgün (Bennu Yıldırımlar) pushes the boundaries of our suspension of disbelief as she is introduced as a well-articulated prostitute with a university degree.
Nilgün goes on with her daily life, taking new customers from her stereotypical madam, and slowly falling for a sleazy bank manager, while the grandfather and grandson begin bonding, driven mostly by their sheer loneliness. The interchanging relationships among the three take unexpected turns as the movie moves toward a dramatic climax.
Falling short on the screen
The story of "Gökten 3 Elma Düştü" sounds great for a movie, and would definitely make a great TV series. However, it falls short on the big screen. Çelikezer does not invest in his characters, probably used to developing them over the course of many TV episodes. The characters stay dwarfed in the face of the unique challenges and relationships in their lives. Each of them, we are informed in not-so-subtle ways, go through their inner turmoil and in the course of the movie, each of them faces a life-altering breakthrough. But these are never left to the audience for them to discover in the pleasant experience of movie watching.
The unfolding of events and the characters soon turn into clichs, the acting soon going haywire before our eyes. The rigidity of the retired general, the golden heart of the prostitute, and the teenage rebellion of the boy are all given in sequences of such clichs, after some point the audience no longer cares for any of the characters. In a plethora of new Turkish movies in theaters, the apples should be last on the list.