Milk (2008)

Yusuff has a hard time defining his adulthood. In one hand, there are his mother's expectations while on the other hand his passions.

Director:

Semih Kaplanoglu

Writers:

Semih Kaplanoglu (screenplay), Orçun Köksal (screenplay)

Stars:

Melih Selcuk, Basak Köklükaya, Riza Akin

6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Melih Selcuk	...	Yusuf
Basak Köklükaya	...	Zehra
Riza Akin	...	Ali Hoca
Saadet Aksoy	...	Semra
Alev Uçarer	...	Kemal
Serif Erol	...	Istasyon Sefi
Orçun Köksal	...	Erol
Sahra Özdag
Semra Kaplanoglu
Tülin Özen	...	Köylü Kizi
Tansu Biçer	...	Postaci
Burcu Aksoy

Storyline

A high school graduate, Yusuf could not pass the university entrance exam. Writing poetry is his greatest passion and some of his poems are being printed in various obscure literary journals. But neither these poems, nor the rapidly falling price of the milk they sell, are being of any benefit to Yusuf and Zehra's lives. When Yusuf finds out about Zehra's secret affair with the town's stationmaster he gets disconcerted. Will he find the way to cope with his anxiety for the unknown future, the rapid change that he is going through and the pain of taking a step into adulthood and leaving his youth behind?

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Mozinet [Hungary] Official site [France]

Country:

Turkey France Germany

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

2 January 2009 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Leche

Filming Locations:

Tire, Izmir, Turkey

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$58,464

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arizona Films, Heimatfilm, Kaplan Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Egg (2007)

User Reviews

Paintings From Rural Turkey

It's hard for a viewer who's used to watching James Bond films to get into Süt. This is the second film of the "Yusuf Trilogy" written and directed by the talented Turkish director Yusuf Kaplanoglu and it precedes Yumurta, so you know what you're up to. Long shots, very little camera motion a very simple actual story, which doesn't have an obvious, Hollywood-like plot twist or ending.

On the other hand, it includes a very long story about the social change the "location" is going through and also a very long story about the change the main character has to face. This long story part is not told through any means of action of course, because basically everybody knows what a teenager has to go through. That part is left to the viewer, to be gained as impressions from the moving paintings of Kaplanoglu's film.

Süt is simply close to film as an art form. Multi-layered, pure, not filled with unnecessary dialogs. Sometimes an image on the background, sometimes an animal or sometimes even a bright light carries the flow of ideas. Viewer needs to think about it, read about it, maybe see it once more and after all these steps, may still like or dislike the film. That's a personal taste nobody can change in the end but this whole process is worth the effort.

Süt was -for me- more difficult to get into than Yumurta. Basak Koklukaya is close to perfect but Melih Selcuk is I think, not really up to the job he has in his hands. The third film of the trilogy will be Bal and will paint the childhood of Yusuf.