User reviews

The most amazing foreign language film I've ever seen (and one of the most heart touching films ever, period)! I didn't plan on watching it, my parents and I were looking through movies and happened to come across this one and my mum said we'll just watch the first 10-15 minutes or so. Ended up watching the whole thing and not regretting a single second.

In my opinion this movie one of the best Turkish movies. First of all, this movie has a real story. In the Korean War, the Turkish army did great things.So history lovers might enjoy this movie.Also,the movie was very impressive.The relationship between the Turkish soldier and the little Korean girl was very beautiful.In summary,I really recommend this movie to watch.

This is the first time for me to watch a Turkish movie. Plot, scene, acting and the story are all great. I should try more Turkish.

Alsi, As a Korean, I must say Thank you to all Turkish veterans who risked their life to help my country which had nothing but ashes. Thank you so much. We couldn't be what we are now without your sacrifices.

I hope more people watch this movie.

I am not Turk, so my perspective is no Xenophobic.

I have to congatulate both the story and the movie, which is extremely well done , BRAVO!

Definately deserving to be in imdb top 250 so that more and more people get to know about this epic journey of war, seperation and a heartfelt reunion will make your eyes watery feeling the grief and struggle of Suleyman. His hopeless efforts to survive the war and to take care of the little girl like his own daughter only to be seperated from her for 60 years will make you question the justice of the two nations towards Suleyman. Definately a movie to be on your watchlists and to be seen by the whole world to enjoy this true story like both our characters enjoyed meeting each other like the stars aligned just to fulfill their promise to protagonist. A gem of Cinema and its power to tell a powerful story; not to be forgotten easily.

The part where the real pics and videos were shown 'live' got me teary eyed.

The trailer of movie talks about a lot of thing about it. But all scenes are completely warming up your blood. You are laughing at some scenes, crying at others or smiling like Ayla. There's war and demand of peace, there's hopelessness and hope, there's humanity and love in this movie. After theater there were a lot of people who were crying. :)

I admit, 'Ayla: The Daughter of War' is not entirely what I expected. Part of me expected a war movie in the veins of 'Warsaw 44'. However, 'Ayla' is far more emotional, and not so much about war, but rather about humanitarian response to war situations. In this regard, it was truly exceptional.

If the little girl doesn't steal your heart, nothing will. If Suleyman doesn't win you over as a caring individual and father figure, chances are nothing will. Ismail Hacioglu was fantastic as Suleyman, a character I really cared about and rooted for. 'Ayla' is a beautiful, touching and heart wrenching story. The film revolves around Turkish soldiers being sent to Korea, who encounter a young girl - as the only survivor - during one of their field missions. What follows next is a beautiful story among the horrors of war.

Based on fact, this is an incredibly inspirational story. The film reminded me - to a certain extent - of the Chinese film 'Aftershock' and the Korean film 'Ode to my Father' - both exceptional films in its own right.

'Ayla' is by far one of the most endearing war films you will ever see. Despite the dramatic element, the film also delivers some very effective comedic moments. 'Ayla' is a one of a kind war film, but might not satisfy everyone's taste in a war movie.

Ayla: The Daughter of War All is fair in love & war... Even at war; the sense of human value reflects, Winsomeness has its effect, we all need love ... despite that I am responsible for every child either mine or not, they ought to be safe and happy... Love is beyond language & nationalism... the world needs love

The film Ayla feels more like a glossy commercial spectacle rather than a captivating biographical drama. While it attempts to depict real-life events, the exaggerated acting and over-the-top scenes are reminiscent of the typical style seen in many Turkish films. The performances lack nuance and fail to resonate with the audience on a deeper emotional level. It becomes evident that the film could have benefitted from the expertise of more skilled directors and the involvement of seasoned actors who could have brought authenticity to the characters. Furthermore, the excessive focus on patriotic elements such as flags and nationalism becomes overwhelming and monotonous, resulting in a sense of tedium. It almost feels as if the film's purpose veers towards promoting Turkish airlines rather than delivering a compelling narrative. With tighter editing and a more thoughtful approach to storytelling, this film had the potential to rise above its commercial trappings and offer a more profound exploration of the subject matter.

You will enjoy this well made movie which takes you from Turkey to Korea spanning a period from around 1950 to around 2010. It very touching, there are scenes of war, scenes of pure joy and tears of separation and joy of unification. All these scenes are acted very well, movie is well paced, does not drag itself, does not get political as it mainly focuses on the strong bonding of father daughter relationship between the Turkish man and the Korean child he found and protected for more than a year. There is no boring scene and you may shed some tears. Watch it.

It was the best Turkish film I watched.All benevolent people around the world should watch this movie. I hope that children will not be victims in battle.Everyone was crying after watching this movie. I was about to cry but I did not cry. It's a controversial film.The battle scenes were also very beautiful.Film is also a positive feature inspired by a real achievement. I recommend you watch this movie.

The most powerful true story based emotional war movie i have ever experienced. My friends, don't miss it.

This movie was coming with it's own unique aura. We had knew that, the movie will be good from it's trailers, TV advertisements and etc. I'm proud that, this movie is our Oscar nominee. Also I'm very thankful to those whom worked for this movie, to bring us a masterpiece. The movie is so emotional that me, I consider myself as a non-emotional person, even I wasn't able to hold myself to not to cry. Being based on a true story makes it even better on my opinion. You can hold yourself to not to cry on the whole movie but just wait for the credits. When you watch the movie you'll understand what I'm talking about right now. Again, thanks to everyone who involved in this piece of art and show us real facts lived on battle zones. "MUST WATCH IN THEATHERS"

May be it's not objective to write something about my nation. But i think there is not much examples like Ayla in human history. While living in the rage of war thinking different when you see a little helpless girl in battlefield is so hard. Film based on a real story. Real good action scenes bundled with a strong emotion of humanism. Great acting . Also soundtrack have a great impact in the quality of film. Ayla was a lucky one when you look at the numbers in human history. We host more than 1 million children of war in our country while in deep sorrow while thinking the ones we cant rescue... And a strong message to politicians : Who can explain the cause of tears shed by a children of war ?

That could be served as a candy bar to forge the diplomatic relationship between two totally different countries. The good gesture offered by the goodwill Turkey movie maker was quite recommendable. There's no harm to do so that would show the people of the world that Turkey is a nation with great heart and profound humanitarian goodwill. Both of the North and South Korean governments and their people would fall in love with Turkey, especially their soldiers.

This movie has a big potential. But unfortunately,movie waste this potential. First of all, this movie is far from war psychology. The motivations of the characters are not told to us correctly. I think the emotions of the characters in a good war movie is so important. But in this movie , characters inside are too empty. They say nothing about war.At the same time, movie uses unnecessary scenes to make audience cry.The second half of the movie is completely different than first half.İts like watching two different movie.There is a big problem about time jumps.The older part of the main character is longer than necessary.In addition, the film contains propaganda than necessary. Also in movie war has not been shown to be painful on both sides. So the war in the film is not neutral and realistic.

But on the other side Ayla has great acting. Every actors and actresses perform flawless.Production is beautiful. War scenes are exaggerated, but pleasant and realistic.As a result Ayla is an average movie.Not bad,but not that good.

Very touching movie.. but idk why that time.. korean doesn't accepted adoption to turkey 🤔

A heart-aching "based on true events" story. Could have been better without Ali Atay -playing himself as always-. I wish a remake of this movie with a better Turkish director and an editing team would be possible. Commercials of the movie introducing it as "The Turkish candidate for Academy Awards candidates" is also problematic.

3 points for the story, 3 points for the little girl, and 1 point for the sake of development of Turkish film industry.

Perfect real story. The story is in the year 1950 and 1951 but unfortunately almost every detail in the movie is from late fifties or even sixties... almost none of the cars, jeeps, radios, anti aircraft guns, choppers used in movie does not exist in 1950. let alone the details as terrible M4 Shermans or plastic water tanks, you may easily see a 55 Chevy around... there are only two cars to exist in the year 1950 as I noticed in the movie.