Steam: The Turkish Bath (1997)

Francesco inherits an old palace from a Turkish aunt and moves to Istanbul to renovate it.

Director:

Ferzan Ozpetek

Writers:

Ferzan Ozpetek (story), Ferzan Ozpetek

Stars:

Alessandro Gassmann, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi

12 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alessandro Gassmann	...	Francesco (as Alessandro Gassman)
Francesca d'Aloja	...	Marta
Carlo Cecchi	...	Oscar
Halil Ergün	...	Osman
Serif Sezer	...	Perran
Mehmet Günsür	...	Mehmet
Basak Köklükaya	...	Fusun
Alberto Molinari	...	Paolo
Zozo Toledo	...	Zozo
Ludovica Modugno	...	Voice of Aunt Anita (voice)
Zerrin Arbas
Necdet Mahfi Ayral
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Burak Barakaci
Ilker Gurel
Murat Ilker

Storyline

Francesco and Marta are husband and wife running a small design company in Rome. When Francesco's long forgotten Aunt Anita dies in Istanbul, he travels there to look after the sale of the hamam (one of a few traditional Turkish baths left) he inherited. There he meets the family running the hamam, gets attracted to a member of it and the whole Turkish atmosphere and decides not to sell the hamam..

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Plot Keywords:

cell phone | turkish | turkish bath | bath | caught kissing | 

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Taglines:

What he inherited was a sexual awakening...

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Francesco stays at the Pera Palace Hotel, the same where Agatha Christie wrote one of her novels.

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Quotes

Perran: Go like water. Come back like water.

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Crazy Credits

Ending credits roll from top to bottom, the reverse of what is usually done.

User Reviews

an interesting film, but forget the homoerotica

In the US, this film is being 'pitched' as a film about sexuality. In truth, that is not the film's focus. The main character travels to Turkey and undergoes an unexpected personal transformation. Part of this transformation has to do with same-gender sexuality. But you will enjoy the film much more if you forget about that entirely, and let the story unfold.

I think that the film's main characteristic is that it is subtle. The main character is not shouting his confusion from the rooftops; the viewer is left to draw conclusions from glances and actions (or the lack thereof). Some self-reflection comes in the form of letters that his aunt wrote to his mother, with the implication that he feels the same way.

Steam, or Hamam, is about suddenly finding one's "home", and being willing to accept that discovery and embrace it.

Details

Official Sites:

Strand Releasing

Country:

Italy Turkey Spain

Language:

Turkish Italian

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Steam: The Turkish Bath

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Box Office

Gross USA:

$384,793

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$384,793

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sorpasso Film, Promete Film, Asbrell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1