Prisoner Kadir secures his freedom by agreeing to join a secret antiterrorist cell. Confronted with the machinery of systematic violence, his desire to renew family relationships becomes a paranoid nightmare. This extremely disturbing metaphor for the pan-social consequences of Near East terrorism was honored with a Special Jury Prize at the festival in Venice.
Terrorist attacks are on the rise in Istanbul and the local authorities decide to create an underground network of informers. Already 20 years in prison, the remainder of Kadir’s sentence is commuted in exchange for work as a garbage collector who, in reality, searches for traces of bomb-making. He and his brother, who has been given a job by the city to shoot stray dogs, become involved in a state sanctioned system of violence whose pressure tactics on the two men lead to bouts of feverish paranoia. The breakdown in their relationship and the loss of trust have destructive consequences. The explosive mix of psychological thriller and metaphoric social fresco intensifies the stifling atmosphere of political chaos that nears apocalyptic dimensions, yet it also heightens the emotional vulnerability of the characters, who paradoxically become the catalysts of tragedy. Under the escalating sensory barrage of sound and image, the city becomes a spectral, claustrophobic space that promotes individual aggression through its defences, offering no escape for either the characters or the viewer.
Jakub Jiřiště
117 min / Color, DCP
Director Emin Alper
/ Screenplay Emin Alper
/ Dir. of Photography Adam Jandrup
/ Music Cevdet Erek
/ Editor Osman Bayraktaroglu
/ Art Director Ismail Durmaz
/ Producer Nadir Öperli, Enis Köstepen, Cem Doruk
/ Production Liman Film
/ Coproduction Paprika Films, Insignia Yapım
/ Cast Mehmet Özgür, Berkay Ateş, Tülin Özen, Müfit Kayacan, Ozan Akbaba
/ Sales The Match Factory
Emin Alper (b. 1974, Konya, Turkey) devoted his student years to modern Turkish history rather than film; he earned a doctorate in the field and subsequently began teaching at the Humanities and Social Sciences Department of Istanbul Technical University. He gained his education in direction by watching other filmmakers, whose short films he appeared in as an actor. He then went on to make his own independent shorts: The Letter (2005) and Rifat (2006). In 2012 he completed his feature debut Beyond the Hill (Tepenin ardı), the Forum jury at the Berlinale awarding him the Caligari Film Prize (best film in the section) and a Special Mention for best directorial debut. The picture was presented in KVIFF’s Horizons section that same year. With the narratively more complex and more emotive direction of his second film Frenzy, he offers a metaphorical look at deep-rooted, systemic paranoia.
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