Credited cast: | |||
![]() |
Tuncay Akdemir | ... | Temo |
![]() |
Selim Bulut | ... | Kasim AGA |
![]() |
Sabahettin DAG | ... | Mayor |
![]() |
Feride Gezer | ... | Berfe |
![]() |
Kadir Ilter | ... | Ruhat |
![]() |
Nazmi Sinan Mihci | ... | Commander |
![]() |
Emrah Ozdemir | ... | Lieutenant |
![]() |
Ali Tekbas | ... | Mendo |
![]() |
Muhsin Tokcu | ... | Old Storyteller |
![]() |
Melek Ulger | ... | Jiyan |
In a snowy Kurdish mountain village, in Turkey, an old woman Berfe and her young granddaughter Jiyan are troubled when the only man in the household, Temo, the son of one and the father of the other, is arrested by the local gendarme. The Commanding Officer has got the information that the villagers are hiding guns from them. It is announced that all the men in the village will be kept arrested until their family resigns and hands over the guns they are hiding. But the real trouble is there are no guns. Berfe and Jiyan will have to embark on a long journey in search of a gun which they could exchange for their beloved Temo. Written by Huseyin KARABEY
I am amazed this film has got no reviews, and has such a low rating. It won the Foreign Film award at Sofia Film Festival, and for a good reason. It is profoundly moving. Upon leaving, I was left with a "Buddhist" sense of transcendence, and even confronted the director with the silly question of how close to Central Asia lake Van was. Most importantly, he answered my other question - these characters were real. The old storyteller, the sublime figure in the film, was still living and telling. Despite immediate reality. The old lady's story was also similar to the one depicted: her husband was a fighter. The picture spoke to me in the lines of imminent reality transcending the immediate. Of inner peace providing the grounds of both immediate and spiritual survival. I was stunned with the humility of the people depicted. With the culture still based on spoken word, and for that reason perhaps still existing, compellingly. In today's-world detachment, the most obvious becomes stunning - like an old storyteller borrowing the meaning of his life from traveling on, to tell the tales of fellow-journeymen. From bowing down, and meditating on the shores of lake Van. Not many words can describe the beauty of the film, and story. Just see it. And bear in mind, these people live. Today, in the same world as ours.