Takva (2006)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Özer Kiziltan

Writer:

Onder Cakar (writer)

Release Date:

1 December 2006 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A promotion brings a Muslim's relationship with God into question.

Awards:

16 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Erkan Can	...	Muharrem
Güven Kiraç	...	Rauf
Meray Ülgen	...	Seyh
Öznur Kula	...	Hacer
Erman Saban	...	Muhittin
Murat Cemcir	...	Mahmut
Settar Tanriogen	...	Ali Bey
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Müfit Aytekin	...	Ünal
Salaetin Bilal	...	Sükrü
Engin Günaydin	...	Erol
Feridun Koc	...	Muzaffer
Erdal Parmaksizoglu
Duygu Sen

Also Known As:

Takva - Gottesfurcht (Germany)
Takva: A Man's Fear of God (International: English title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Germany | Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Company:

Corazón International

Trivia:

Turkey's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

The gripping story of a devout man who looses his mind over the pragmatic power games of an Islamic brotherhood he adheres to.

Takva - A Man's Fear of God is one of those films that playfully enact conflicts of fundamental importance for the world we live in. Takva starts off with humble Muharrem, an introverted single man living in Istanbul, being drawn into the inner circle of a Muslim brotherhood he has adhered to ever since his childhood days. When the erudite and strikingly pragmatic leader, Sheikh Cemal, appoints him as his financial organizer, Muharrem gets endowed with all the amenities and trappings of a modern world businessman. He has to collect rent and administer the order's finances. His naive will to live a life according to what he thinks is the will of God clashes not only with his unfulfilled sexual desires, but also with the mechanisms of power within the order. The brothers' lifestyle may be conservative, but they run an organization that is fully intertwined with the present day social, political and economic life of Turkey.

For Muharrem, who hardly understands any of this business, this means that every step he intends to make for the greater glory of God draws him ever deeper into the quagmire of corruption, lies and hypocrisy. The authority he is endowed with now makes him haughty and difficult to deal with, while his accumulated frustration increasingly throws him into literal fits. Everything escalates when he comes face to face with the woman he desires...

The plot for this great film is based on an old folk tale from Turkey about a man who refuses to marry the daughter of his spiritual master although he clearly loves her. In Onder Cakar and Omer Kiziltan's adaptation, the narrative serves to expose the inner mechanisms of puritan Muslim orders and throw light on the mental set-up of its loyal members. The film is pure fun to watch due to countless instances of great irony, a remarkable love for detail and breathtaking scenes of ecstatic rituals. While the filmmakers were very careful not to ridicule the milieu they're depicting, their critical approach accounts for a film that substantially helps understand the way political Islam "works".