120 (2008)

During the Sarikamis Battle, the Ottoman army runs out of ammunition and appeals to the people of Van for help, who happen to have supplies. However, the First World War is on and all men ... See full summary »

Directors:

Özhan Eren, Murat Saraçoglu

Writer:

Özhan Eren

Stars:

Özge Özberk, Cansel Elcin, Burak Sergen

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Özge Özberk	...	Münire
Cansel Elcin	...	Süleyman
Burak Sergen	...	Sermet Bey
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yasar Abravaya	...	Sait
Melih Atalay	...	Doktor
Ozan Cem Dur	...	Mustafa
Deniz Güngören	...	Ferit
Melza Burcu Ince	...	Reyhan
Demir Karahan	...	Kamil Pasa
Mustafa Karakoyun	...	Abdullah
Halil Kumova	...	Dro
Emin Olcay	...	Cemal Müdür
Ibrahim Oner	...	Ali Riza
Incilay Sahin	...	Sadiye
Misak Toros	...	Dr. Kirkor

Storyline

During the Sarikamis Battle, the Ottoman army runs out of ammunition and appeals to the people of Van for help, who happen to have supplies. However, the First World War is on and all men are fighting at four corners of the empire and therefore can not respond to to the appeal. The young children of Van want to do something. When the Principal of a school, who has lost a son in the war, suggests that the ammunition be transported to Sarikamis, 120 young boys aged 12 to 17 volunteer and take to the road. The movie tells the true story of the 120 boys and their sisters and mothers left behind, who wait for their return. The movie opens with a scene where and Armenian doctor goes to the house of a Turk whose son is sick, as he has done many times before. One of the boys does not like an Armenian doctor providing medical service to Turks, who, he believes are out to destroy the Turks. At the same time, the Armenian members of the Hunchaks in Van, who gather at a church and vow to join the...

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Plot Keywords:

denial of armenian genocide | nationalism | world war one | ottoman empire | armenian | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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User Reviews

Story from a single page of Turkish history - many more to go

The Armenian organizations in Australia attempted to stop the screening of this movie in local cinemas without success. This indicated to me that the film was worth seeing.

We went to see 120 on a sunny Sunday afternoon together with several family friends. Although we tried hard to hold back tears during the screening, we were nevertheless struck with the tender presentation of a bitter episode in Turkish history.

"Munire" is a well known and deeply admired young actress in Turkey. Her performance adds great deal of warmth to the otherwise sobering and equally desperate struggle. Unfortunately, I found that the players were not given sufficient time to exhibit their full potentials. The plot was somewhat rushed and climactic moments were not well emphasized. Period atmosphere, superb music and excellent cinematography tend to alleviate many of these shortcomings however make-up and reproduction of local dialects fall far short of a commendable standard.

Makers of this genre need to review and digest the productions of the rival camp before embarking upon such ambitious projects. Having said that, one should also bear in mind that Turks have to refrain from making Armenian style propaganda films which only help create friction and reinforce communal hatred. I believe viewers would like to see the historical facts made palatable with a small romantic story as was done in 120.

Of course, one impediment towards creating a "Doctor Zhivago" standard movie is money. Turkish film makers have to find the necessary financial support in order to be able to create world class productions. This is not too hard to do in this day and age…. they only need to follow the examples of their Armenian and Greek counterparts.

One last suggestion is to convince the producers that the copies to be shown overseas need to be dubbed into English or German – depending on where the films is screened – with Turkish subtitles. These films need to be tailored to attract Turkish youth abroad and the local population in foreign countries. Turkiye is on the back foot after 80 years of intense Armenian lobbying and the only way to reverse this trend is to show "the other side of the coin" to the world community.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

15 February 2008 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Сто двадцать

Filming Locations:

Turkey

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,757,041

Company Credits

Production Co:

Posta Tanitim Hizmetleri

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color