On Yilda Bir: Insaat 2

It's a sequel to the Insaat (2003) and we pick up ten years after our misguided protagonists have been convicted and imprisoned for their crimes. Just like the first movie, this prequel works on more than a few levels, highlighting the powerlessness of the most socio-economically disadvantaged people in the Turkish society, our two likable and accidental crooks finally giving up the fight against forces much greater than them in shaping their lives and try to carve a safe space for themselves and their loved ones in the process while their puppet-masters get away with a lot worse. It's these sort of layers that give this flick the holding power it has. Being shot in a single location and making it believable to any extent is another remarkable feat for a movie which supposedly involves international criminal conspiracies. Overall a good watch, juxtaposing fate based comedy on the backdrop of hopes, dreams and frustrations of two construction workers works quite well.

What's not so quite good is that the formula was used in the prequel and to a much better effect, because it didn't rely on a happy ending. It bare all the injustices, the complexities and the easily corruptable nature of the everyday Turk in search of significance, wealth or meaning without apologizing for it. This time around it almost feels like the writer felt sorry for the fate he imposed on these two hapless souls who ended up spending ten years in prison, without a family and without a future to look forward to.