Bes vakit (2006)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Reha Erdem

Writer:

Reha Erdem (writer)

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, facing the immense sea, flanked by olive yards...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Love | Children | Animal | Friend

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ali Bey Kayali	...	Yakup
Elit Iscan	...	Yildiz
Bulent Yarar	...	Imam (as Bülent Emin Yarar)
Taner Birsel	...	Zekeriya
Yigit Özsener	...	Yusuf
Selma Ergeç	...	The Teacher
Tarik Sönmez	...	Shepherd Davut
Köksal Engür	...	Halil Dayi
Tilbe Saran	...	Omer's Mother
Sevinç Erbulak	...	Yakup's Mother
Nihan Asli Elmas	...	Yildiz's Mother
Cüneyt Türel	...	Grandfather
Harika Uysal	...	Zeynep
Utku Baris Sarma	...	Ali
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eren Akan	...	Ismail

Also Known As:

Times and Winds (International: English title) (USA) (festival title)

Runtime:

Canada:111 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Assos, Ayvacik, Çanakkale, Turkey

Company:

Atlantik Film

Quotes:

Omer: I pray every night. For him to die.
Omer's Friend: How's he going to die?
Omer: Out of sickness.
Omer's Friend: Has he not gotten better?
Omer: An accident, then.
Omer's Friend: Maybe he'd fall from the minaret!
Omer: A snake could bite him.
Omer's Friend: Even if it did, it wouldn't kill him.
Omer: Scorpion! Didn't uncle Halil's grandson die of a scorpion sting?
Omer's Friend: He was a baby, though.
[...]

Good and fun film, but needs a bit more polish...

This film is surprisingly balanced in many ways. It manages to have quirky, humorous characters who are still pretty real and relatable. It manages to have a young star who is likable yet also has some evil thoughts. It's beautiful and slow, but not heavy and profound.

All in all, a very worthy film. However there were a few awkward, overdone scenes that broke the spell for me. In particular, those with a father trying to make his good for nothing sons be useful. One makes do, but the other is both lazy and dumb. These characters never felt real....or even interesting.

Also, a few moments were just a little too telegraphed; a little too obvious. When a girl is running with a little baby down a steep road, for instance...hmmm, I wonder what might happen?

It depicts rural, small town life near the Turkish coast and, accordingly, moves at a pretty slow pace. Might be a bit slow for some, but should be enjoyable nonetheless. The current rating is over 9 points. Way too high, in my opinion, but this film is still a good time.