Turkish cinema is constantly maturing. This is one of the best explorations of the social divide and culture of envy present in modern Turkey. Inevitable comparisons are made to works of Haneke, particularly to Funny Games. The film does not have the virtuosity of Haneke, but it also does not have Haneke's patronising, barely disguised sermons against bourgeoisie. The middle class young people are not hedonistic, divorced from reality buffheads. They exist within a different reality from the nether class hoons that invade their world. Some left-leaning Turkish viewers that would like to see any city-dwelling Turk from a non-working class background as vermin will not be pleased. However, social strata in Turkey is not black and white anymore - if it ever were...
It won't be a spoiler to state that the violent scenes are difficult to watch and some might find those out of place in a film that is decidedly anti-violence. To me, the uber-realism of those scenes carried the subtext of the film: Do not kid yourself. Violence is ugly, brutal and it never leads to anything positive. There is no justification for it.
Thanks to the viewer that had recognized the directors at the end of the film. I would have missed that message if it weren't for him/her. Not that it would have made any difference to my assessment.
