Yol (1982)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Serif Gören
Yilmaz Güney

Writer:

Yilmaz Güney (writer)

Release Date:

3 December 1982 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A harsh portrait of Turkey, its people and its authorities, shown through the stories of five prisoners given a week's home leave...

Plot Keywords:

Turkey | Prisoner | Socialist Realism | Military Occupation | Racism

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Tarik Akan	...	Seyit Ali
Serif Sezer	...	Ziné
Halil Ergün	...	Mehmet Salih
Meral Orhonsay	...	Emine
Necmettin Çobanoglu	...	Omer
Semra Uçar	...	Gulbahar
Hikmet Çelik	...	Mevlat
Sevda Aktolga	...	Meral
Tuncay Akça	...	Yusuf
Hale Akinli	...	Seyran
Turgut Savas	...	Zafer
Engin Çelik	...	Mirza
Hikmet Tasdemir	...	Sevket
Osman Bardakçi	...	Berber Elim
Enver Güney	...	Cindé

Also Known As:

The Way (International: English title) (copyright title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

Turkish | Kurdish

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Turkey

Company:

Cactus Film

Trivia:

Yilmaz Güney was in prison when the film was made. He wrote a detailed screenplay and acted out some scenes in his jail cell and Serif Gören directed the film according to his strict instructions.

One of the Top 10 Best Films I Have Ever Seen

Yol tells the story of several prisoners on leave in Turkey. Seyit Ali (Tariq Akan) finds that his wife (Serif Sezer) has cheated on him, but when her family insists on an honor killing, he cannot make himself kill her. Mehmet Salih (Halil Ergun) was arrested after trying to pull of a heist with his brother-in-law, whom he abandoned as he was being shot by the police. His in laws want nothing to do with him, and he is forced to finally tell his wife Emine (Meral Orhonsay) the truth. Omar (Nedgmettin Chobanoglu) returns to his village to find that it has been caught up in Turkey's civil war, and is in ruins. They all must deal with how their worlds have changed since being behind bars.

This film is so startlingly beautiful. I am not Turkish, but I am Muslim and speak some Turkish, and it was nice to see something from a Muslim director, who was not trying to copy Hollywood. This was a Turkish film, and Sherif Goren did not try to make it for anyone else. Turks are interesting people; their country has problems, and when they appear strong on the outside, on the inside, they always seem to be in pain, from their heart; yet, they always manage to be happy. They have great perseverence.

Anyway, Yilmaz Guney wrote such a great script, he captured a peice of his culture a put it in a medium most people can understand. It's a masterpeice, giving a glimpse of people with a beautiful religion and culture that anyone could watch. An excellent film.