Ten Best Turkish Films 2004 / Gelin / Turkey 1973
İstanbul is figuratively known as a city offering opportunities to gold diggers but not all of them have what it takes to succeed. The story involves a country family who sell everything and move to the big city. The movie portrays the changeover from the feudal relations of the country to the proletarian environment of the suburbs.
The Bride, telling the story of a family from Yozgat who migrate to Istanbul, their efforts to cope with the new living conditions, their struggle for survival, is one of the best examples of migration stories in Turkish cinema. The Bride, the first instalment of Lütfi Akad’s internationally renowned trilogy, is readily accepted as the most successful of the three, the other instalments being The Wedding and Bloody Money. The film reflects the rise of “little Anatolia” in Istanbul, a phenomenon which later gains momentum. Istanbul is known as a city of golden opportunities, but not everyone gets the chance to use them. With extreme realism, the film conveys the determination of people who, selling everything they own, migrate to the metropolis to forge a ‘present’ and ‘future’. The performance of Hülya Koçyiğit as Meryem contributed to the success of the film. ‘The voyage of no return’ of the family and of the young woman who loses her sick son and ends up working at a factory, played a major part in the revolution of Turkish cinema in the 1970s. In describing the experiences of the family from Yozgat, Akad points to the dissolving feudal relationships and the transition to a proletarian working class, suggesting a political awareness one rarely encounters in current Turkish cinema. This approach makes itself particularly apparent in the optimistic ‘happy ending’. The Bride, as a film that discusses and comments on the difficulty of change in Turkey during that time, using methods that derive from sociological realism and social realism, leaves a deep impression on the viewer. Notable for its economical perspective on the problems of the period, its allegorical structure, unadorned narrative and fine editing work, The Bride is further etched into our minds through its realistic and effective use of music.
97 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Lütfi Ömer Akad
/ Screenplay Lütfi Ömer Akad
/ Dir. of Photography Gani Turanlı
/ Music Yalçın Tura
/ Producer Hürrem Erman
/ Production Erman Film
/ Cast Hülya Koçyiğit, Kerem Yılmazer, Kahraman Kıral, Ali Şen, Aliye Rona, Kamuran Usluer, Nazan Adalı, Seden Kızıltunç
/ Contact Festival on Wheels - Ankara Cinema Association, Erman Film
Lütfi Ömer Akad (b. 1916, Istanbul) studied economics and then worked in the banking sector as production head and accountant. He debuted as film director with Kill the Whore (Vurum kahpeye, 1949). He established a unique style in Turkish cinema and became one of the pioneers of the “directors’ generation”. In the seventies he created the famous trilogy The Bride (Gelin, 1973) / The Wedding (Dugun, 1973) / Bloody Money (Diyet, 1974), considered his masterpiece. Forced by the unfavourable conditions, he later withdrew from cinema. He directed several adaptations for TV and taught at the Institute of Film and Television, Mimar Sinan University.
Festival on Wheels - Ankara Cinema Association
Abay Kunanbay Cad 33/6, 06700, Ankara
Turkey
Phone: +90 532 655 6633
Fax: +90 312 466 4331
E-mail: [email protected]
Erman Film
Gazeteci Erol Denek Sok. No 5/6 Erman Han Alyon Sok, Beyoglu, , Istanbul
Turkey
Phone: +90 212 244 3202
Fax: +90 212 249 5186
Ahmet Boyacıoğlu
Festival Organizer, Film Director, Producer
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