Yol (1982)

When five Kurdish prisoners are granted one week's home leave, they find to their dismay that they face continued oppression outside of prison from their families, the culture, and the government.

Directors:

Serif Gören, Yilmaz Güney

Writer:

Yilmaz Güney

Stars:

Tarik Akan, Serif Sezer, Halil Ergün

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tarik Akan	...	Seyit Ali
Serif Sezer	...	Ziné
Halil Ergün	...	Mehmet Salih
Meral Orhonsay	...	Emine
Necmettin Çobanoglu	...	Ömer
Semra Uçar	...	Gülbahar
Hikmet Çelik	...	Mevlüt
Sevda Aktolga	...	Meral
Tuncay Akça	...	Yusuf
Hale Akinli	...	Seyran
Turgut Savas	...	Zafer
Hikmet Tasdemir	...	Sevket
Engin Çelik	...	Mirza
Osman Bardakçi	...	Berber Elim
Enver Güney	...	Cindé

Storyline

A harsh portrait of Turkey, its people and its authorities, shown through the stories of five prisoners given a week's home leave, and the problems they encounter in adjusting to the world outside.

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Plot Keywords:

socialist realism | city | tragedy | murdered with a gun | looking at a photograph | 

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Taglines:

The story of three families' search for freedom.

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was the first turkish movie which won an international price (Palme d'or of Cannes Festival) and it was made by a Kurdish.

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Quotes

Seyit Ali: Sadness has many faces. Like flowers, birds and winds. I tried to tell through some of my close friends the sadness, love and sorrow. Although it has been deemed incomprehensible and inconceivable by some people. Yilmaz Guney

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Alternate Versions

The original version of the Ömer segments included a sequence in which the plight of Turkey's Kurdish population is discussed, with the sequence prefaced with the location title 'Kurdistan'. The sensitivity surrounding this issue in Turkey was part of the reason the film was banned there for many years. These scenes were not restored to the 2017 'Full Version' release, nor are the included on the Korean-issued DVD of the film.

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Connections

Featured in Bîranînen li ser kevirî (2014)

User Reviews

Yol as reality of Turkey

Yilmaz Guney's film "Yol" is one of the best movies that Turkish film industry has ever made. There are several reasons for that. The most important one is it says "Turkey is a prison weather you are in prison or not.". Since you have to wear uniforms in your school life, since you have to be a member of army for twelve months after 18, and since you have to say that I am Turkish, you can call yourself as a prisoner.

Yilmaz Guney reflected these problems of Turkey in a very realistic way. He saw his country as a beautiful place to live, but he was also responsible for his people to show the reality of Turkey. But it is completely wrong to say that he is ashamed to live in Turkey.

Details

Country:

Turkey Switzerland France

Language:

Turkish Kurdish

Release Date:

1 September 1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Az út

Filming Locations:

Diyarbakir, Turkey

Company Credits

Production Co:

Güney Film, Cactus Film, France 2 (FR2)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital (restored version)

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1