Times and Winds (2006)
"Bes vakit" (original title)

A small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, facing the immense sea, flanked by olive yards. Villagers are simple and diligent people who struggle to cope with a harsh nature. ... See full summary »

Director:

Reha Erdem

Writer:

Reha Erdem

Stars:

Ozen Ozkan, Ali Bey Kayali, Elit Iscan

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ozen Ozkan	...	Omer
Ali Bey Kayali	...	Yakup
Elit Iscan	...	Yildiz
Bülent Emin Yarar	...	Imam
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 - Ömer's little brother

Storyline

A small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, facing the immense sea, flanked by olive yards. Villagers are simple and diligent people who struggle to cope with a harsh nature. They earn their living, on a daily survival basis, out of the earth and of a few animals they feed. Just like the animals and trees around them, they have the knowledge of their temporary existence, hence a sober resignation prevails. They live according to the rhythm of the earth, air and water, day and night and seasons. The daily time is divided into five parts by the sound of the call to prayer. Every day, all human events are lived through within these five time slices. In child raising, grownups go on with the practice they have experienced by their parents. They expose their love awkwardly and consider beating a favorable method. Fathers always prefer one of their sons. Mothers command their daughters ruthlessly. Ömer, Yakup and Yildiz, three children of about 12,13 years old, just between ...

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Plot Keywords:

love | children | teacher | animal | friend | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Times and Winds

Filming Locations:

Assos, Ayvacik, Çanakkale, Turkey

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,338 (USA) (11 January 2008)

Gross:

$6,176 (USA) (20 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantik Film, Imaj

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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.
[...]

User Reviews

Pastoral: Reha Erdem's Soliloquy on the Passage of Time and Youth

BAS VAKIT (TIME AND WINDS) is less a narrative film than a suspended contemplation on the cycle of life, the passage of time, and the persistence of family traits. It is a work from Turkey of rare beauty visually, musically, and natural grandeur. Writer/director Reha Erdem is a poet as well as an accomplished filmmaker.

Three young children are approaching the torrents of adolescence, each carrying emotional scars and family histories that will forever alter the way they reach adulthood. Omer (Ozkan Ozen) is the son of the local imam who climbs the minaret five times a day to chant the call to prayer: Omer's younger, smarter brother is favored by the father and Omer copes with the loathing for his father by planning his death. Yakup (Ali Bey Kayali), Omer's closest friend, has a crush on his teacher (Selma Ergeç) but is deeply disillusioned when he spies on his own father (whom he has always defended against his grandfather's abuse) attempting to court his teacher. Yildiz (Elit Iscan) is a girl under-appreciated by her mother and is stunned to overhear her parents coupling. The three children attempt to engage in a normal childhood, reacting tot he beauty of the natural surroundings of their poor little village to the point of learning animal husbandry first hand! They befriend another young orphan Davut (Tarik Sonmez), the town shepherd, when he sustains physical abuse from his guardian. The sensitivity of the children's reflections of their parents' maladaptive behavior creates a bond that sustains their daily trials.

There is not a lot of narrative here, but the sensory pleasures of the film are immense. Divided into sections labeled Night, Evening, Afternoon, Noon and Morning, the film follows the marriage of the calls to worship that clock the lives of these people with the atmospheric cinematography by Florent Herry and embellished by the sumptuous musical score by Arvo Pärt. It is a long film (just short of two hours) that takes its time to unfold the mysteries of coming of age and it is a film that will haunt the viewer long after the credits have ceased. In Turkish with English subtitles. Grady Harp