Lovelorn (2005)

A single mother with a child meets a retired teacher who tries to keep pace with his new life and to protect them from her ex-husband.

Director:

Yavuz Turgul

Writer:

Yavuz Turgul

Stars:

Meltem Cumbul, Sener Sen, Timuçin Esen

10 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Meltem Cumbul	...	Dünya
Sener Sen	...	Nazim
Timuçin Esen	...	Halil
Güven Kiraç	...	Memet
Devin Özgür Çinar	...	Piraye (as Devin Özgür Cinar)
Erdal Tosun	...	Hasmet
Sümer Tilmaç	...	Takoz
Ecenaz Kiziltan	...	Melek
Inci Sen	...	Nurse
Aynur Dogan	...	Self
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sarp Aydinoglu	...	Taxi driver
Ümit Ilban
Atilla Pakdemir
Mine Tugay
Mübeccel Vardar	...	Berrin

Storyline

Idealist Nazim returns home to his family in Istanbul after a 15-year gap away teaching in a remote Kurdish village in eastern Turkey. Becoming a taxi driver he meets a single mother who works in a sleazy club and becomes embroiled in her plight - a troublesome ex-husband who won't leave her alone - and starts to fall in love with her.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi driver | ex teacher | village | taxi | love | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Turkey for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.

User Reviews

An amazing contemporary Turkish film...

As a person who has written a 100-page thesis on Turkish 'sinema,' I concur with populist sentiment that "Gonul Yarasi/Lovelorn" is an exceptional film. I think it tops "Eskiya/The Bandit" and now has to be considered Yavuz Turgul's best film. It is amazing to think that someone who first directed a Kemal Sunal (Turkey's closest equivalent to Jerry Lewis, alas Sunal is no longer with us) film in 1976 is among the masters of contemporary Turkish film. He has formed an excellent artistic partnership with Sener Sen, who is once as brilliant here he was in "Eskiya." And, enough words of praise can not be given to Meltem Cumbul. I loved her in "Propganda," loved her even more in Faith Akin's "Head-On," and this is a captivating performance here. I think the fact that her character is named Dunya, which means WORLD in English, hints that her character is a symbol for Turkey's acceptance into the outside world. Dunya's struggles and her bitter setbacks make me believe this might well be Turgul's intentions. I think her ex-husband, represents Turkey's modern state and Sen is a symbol of Turkey's once prosperous past. There is almost too much going on at once to concentrate fully on what is going on in the film! I think one thing which has been incorrectly cited as a flaw in this film is the melodrama element. I think this is such a central element to all Turkish films, whether they be the American film rip-offs of the '70s (Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam/Turkish Star Wars) or the great films of Yilmaz Guney, "Yol" and "Arkadas/The Friend," there is always that aspect of Turkish films. The notable exception seems to be the films of Zeki Demirkubuz and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but both have stated they have been more influenced by Russian and French filmmakers, such as Tarkovsky and Bresson, than the likes of Guney or Atif Yilmaz, considered to be a pioneer of Turkish cinema- he directed in Sen in many films as well. But, "Gonul Yarasi" is splendid. It is well-edited, well-cast and well-directed. If a person knows nothing about Turkey or Turkish cinema, they may not fully appreciate this film, but I firmly feel that just about anyone who does will really like this film tremendously.

Details

Official Sites:

Offical site [United States] Official site [Turkey]

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

7 January 2005 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Dragoste neimpartasita

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,292,734

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filma-Cass, Most Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1