The Breath (2009)

Story of 40-man Turkish task force who must defend a relay station.

Directors:

Levent Semerci, Erdem Can (co-director)

Writers:

Mehmet Ilker Altinay (as M. Ilker Altinay), Hakan Evrensel (book)

Stars:

Mete Horozoglu, Ilker Kizmaz, Baris Bagci

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mete Horozoglu	...	Cpt. Mete
Ilker Kizmaz	...	Srg. Ilker Cavus
Baris Bagci	...	First Lieutenant Baris
Özgür Eren Koç	...	Resul (as Ozgur Eren Koc)
Riza Sönmez	...	Doctor (Voice) (as Riza Sonmez)
Engin Hepileri	...	Taksideki Adam
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Birce Akalay	...	The wife of Cpt. Mete
Ibrahim Akoz	...	Ibo
Serkan Altintas	...	Vedat Dinckaya
Turgay Atalay	...	Haberci Turgay
Ertunc Atar	...	Ertunc
Okan Avci	...	The dispatch rider of First Lieutenant Baris
Baris Aydin	...	Cemil
Burak Aykurt	...	Burak
Engin Baykal	...	Radio Op. Srg. Sedat

Storyline

A small group of Turkish soldiers in a remote patrol station in eastern Turkey face their near-certain death, during a time the conflict between Turkish Army and separatist militant organization PKK reached its peak point.

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Plot Keywords:

turkish army | 1990s | terror | sniper | year 1993 | 

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Taglines:

If you fall asleep, you die...

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Events depicted in the film are loosely based on the "First Aktutun Attack" on 13 September 1992 where 22 soldiers were killed by PKK terrorists.

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Goofs

Story takes place in 1993 but the song "Gotur Beni Gittigin Yere" performed in the film was written in 1996.

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Quotes

Doktor: See that, captain? I tore your station down.
Mete Yüzbasi: I can still see the roof, Doktor.

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Soundtracks

Gotur Beni Gittigin Yere
Written by Arap Sukru
Performed by Turgay Atalay

User Reviews

Must-See for the Politically Inclined

This is a must-see movie if you are somehow interested in PKK terror throughout the 90s. It is of further interest for those interested in how a successful movie can be produced with professional directing despite an almost-all amateur cast.

It is apparent that a good part of the scenario is based on real events: From personal experience, I recall reading about of the occasions and situations in the movie from the local media. The battle scenes are quite graphic and accurate. The characters feel quite real. They are not necessarily deep, but depth of character is not really necessary for the storyline, as this movie is about the lives of soldiers in an obscure, remote military post.

The camera use in the movie is excellent. In the opening scenes, the audience experiences the vastness of the landscape. The feeling of loneliness and being deserted is strongly conveyed. Further into the movie, the camera is used professionally to convey a feeling of urgency in the battle scenes, of which there are only a few. It is equally professional in conveying tranquility, and if you watch the movie, you will see one climax where this contrast is made very apparent.

In various connecting scenes, the passage of time and the feeling of timelessness is communicated through fast moving clouds, reminiscent of Donnie Darko.

On a further note, most of the actors are either amateurs or had very short acting careers. However, the director manages to offset this setback by using different camera angles where the audience does not have to see the faces of the actors to understand their feelings or mood. This movie is an excellent example of low budget casting can be more successful than many professional actors when good directorship is used.

Those being said, there are some unnecessarily long scenes in the second part of the movie, where the captain explains in head-aching detail his philosophy and thoughts as he becomes more and more suicidal. However, I do not take any points off my score for this setback, because long live the Turkish warriors. 10/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Turkey

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

The Breath

Filming Locations:

Antalya, Turkey

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,291,338

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creavidi, Fida Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1