The Market: A Tale of Trade (2008)
"Pazar - Bir ticaret masali" (original title)

A Turkish small time black marketeer wants to enter the cell phone business. To get enough money, he promises the local doctor to get medicine for sick children.

Director:

Ben Hopkins

Writer:

Ben Hopkins

Stars:

Tayanç Ayaydin, Genco Erkal, Senay Aydin

6 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tayanç Ayaydin	...	Mihram
Genco Erkal	...	Fazil
Senay Aydin	...	Elif
Hakan Sahin	...	Mustafa
Rojîn Ulker	...	Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Övül Avkiran
Onur Ünsal

Storyline

Mihram is a small time Turkish black marketeer who gambles and drinks too much. Something that bothers both him and his wife, Elif. He wants to better his life and when he hears about the enormous amount of cell phones being sold, he wants to enter that market. For this, he needs money and when the local doctor asks him to get medicine from Azerbaijan for the sick children, he sets out to get the medicine, aided by his crotchety elderly uncle Fazil.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany Turkey UK Kazakhstan

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

27 November 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

El mercado: Un cuento de comercio

Box Office

Budget:

€1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flying Moon Filmproduktion, Eurasia Film, Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion (GFF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

I can get it for you wholesale…or less!

Seen in the World Tour sidebar at the 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival, this tells us of Mihram's efforts to upgrade his standing as an entrepreneur in mid-90's Turkey. He is a "procurer" of whatever people contract him for. In the first scene he has brought a man a cable to replace one recently stolen. Remarkably, the cable is the exact length required. The dawning that Mihram (who didn't do the stealing) is selling the man his own cable is a warm and funny introduction to the tale to follow. But he wants to set up a cell phone franchise, making him a legitimate merchant, and for that he'll need much more money.

An opportunity is presented to help a local doctor get needed medicines, available in neighboring Kazakhstan. This chance to improve his relationship with both God and his wife (and turn a large profit) leads Mihram on the story arc through the rest of his adventure. Deals are made, the local "mafia" is flouted, and an endearing Uncle is recruited to help with the smuggling.

There is a lot of humanity presented, with the characters well understood. Every interaction becomes a negotiation., whether over a card table or at a border checkpoint. The scenes of bartering are wonderfully reminiscent of watching any "relative from the old country" work their magic on a local merchant. All I will say about the reconcilement of the plot is that it is Indie: It makes some sense, it's a little unexpected and it's a bit ironic.