Burning Days

This movie tries to parallel the current Turkish social and political state by using a simple story in a small town in central Turkey using many metaphors. Since the script writer has not worked very hard in doing this, the narrative becomes weaker and weaker as the movie goes on. The first parts were interesting and promising, however towards the end of the movie, the script fell to the point where it broke from being believable and original. Performances are generally good and cinematography is also above average. I hope more of these type of movies with a better story and script are produced in Turkey, because there is a need for them.

I entered the cinema with high expectations regarding the movie and I left satisfied. Of course there were some things I found unrealistic and some others were VERY realistic. And not everyone may enjoy the ending but I love that we can discuss and come up with different opinions. I loved the symbolism and the messages it conveyed. The cinematography was superb. I'd call this movie a political thriller with representations of "the other". The other here can be many things, including "women" (vs men), "urban" (vs rural), "queer" (vs cishet), "just" (vs corrupt), "minority" (vs majority). I believe this movie deserves our support. Despite being 2 hours and 9 minutes, it never felt so. I never realized how quickly the time went by. I'm considering a rewatch.

Emin Alper's fourth cinematic marvel not only aptly describes the Turkish societal and political contemporary condition in a peculiar cinematographic style, but it beautifully teases that condition. Burning Days is both politically realistic and artistically pleasing. At the end of the film, you remain at your theatre seat with a feeling of being understood, a feeling, which is accompanied by an emotion of a kind of indescribable joy. This is a very clever and striking work of art, which is full of wit, irony, and sarcasm. Scenario is quite impressive with little shortcomings, and cinematography, art direction, and music are particularly strong. And, in terms of casting, Selahattin Pasali and Ekin Koc wonderfully express their characters, while supporting actors are very impressive in their performances (especially Erdem Senocak, who plays Kemal).

Kurak Gunler, which literally translates as "Arid Days" in Turkish, is an extraordinary psychological / political suspense movie that I watched without breathing from the very beginning to the last minute. If we can still be so deeply affected by the events that take place in this film despite all the shame and disgrace we have experienced in the last 20 years, it means there is still hope for this country.

The suspense continues until the end of the movie, also with the help of great soundtrack and perfect acting performances, especially by the talented young Turkish actor, sweet Selahattin Pasali.

My only disappointment about the movie was the end was not very hopeful, which we need more than ever nowadays...

Disturbingly real socio-political analysis of rural areas of central anatolia. It's really well processed and keeps you interested about the plot. A lot of drama emphasising also the corruption within the justice system. No law enforcement officer could actually perform its work under the shadow of politics and manipulated society. The chain of command was also reflected really well considering the judge, prosecutor and police triangle. It's definetly a must watch to understand the situation in Turkey. It's so underrated and should be promoted more. I don't think it gets the credit it deserves in Turkish media.