Sekerpare Kiz

This movie is one of the most spectacular jobs the Turkish movie sector has ever come up with. The movie is semi-musical. However, what you can call funny in this movie is mostly achieved by using different accents of Turkish and maybe the most common cultural patterns, including beautiful classical Turkish music with lyrics changed according to the script. So obviously this masterpiece doesn't have a literal "universal" value as you would call it. But at the same time, we all know that anything that has a universal value also has a cultural background. Probably in an imaginary time where everybody wants to know other cultures to find the common values between people, this movie would be a good way to do that.

I know that I said almost nothing about the movie itself, 'cause I only talked about how this movie makes me feel. Alright, the script is written really well (especially the musical part, with adapted lyrics). The acting is flawless. Şener Şen is one of the greatest actors in Turkish cinema. And this is one of his best performances. As Ziver, he makes you feel exactly the way the director would want you to feel. Şener Şen has always been successful at using the funniest Turkish accents (As we have seen him do in many Turkish comedies in the 70's: Kibar Feyzo, Davaro, Züğürt Ağa etc.) Şevket Altuğ is amazing as Hurşit. İlyas Salman as Cumali, the honorable street guard, played "the master of fools" (the cucumber) unbelievably well. The names for the characters were chosen from the appropriate era of Turkish culture that the movie depicts. An absolutely brilliant scenario, as it offers you an enjoyable trip to the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Relationships between men and women are shown so realistically, and strong religious figures are melted beautifully in the scenario to show what society was like at that time. All told in the funniest way possible. But as I said before, it only means something if you are familiar enough with Turkish culture and Turkish history. I believe that this movie will still be enjoyable for the future generations.

Unfortunately much of the humour in this Atıf Yılmaz masterpiece is lost in translation, many of the stereotypes that are hilarious to witness for the local audience will go right above the heads of the international viewers, fortunately the comedic and dramatic strength of the movie is not limited to such a narrow scope so what's available there for the outsiders looking in, is still plenty enough to enjoy this wonderful movie which has a theatrical play quality to it along with a strong cast (the infallible Duo of Sen and Salman to begin with) and an unlikely love story.

What gives this movie a unique worth is the way it absolutely makes a mockery of the post-military coup Turkey that was in a rapid transformation towards a wild west like economic system, leaving all those behind who weren't smart! (read:shrewd) enough to keep up with the evolving times yet ironically witnessing many of the plagues which killed the Ottoman Empire (the setting of the movie) such as corruption and the facade of morality in an outwardly religious society which is only enforced on the weak and the vulnerable, staying just the same.

The symbolism of the characters is not coincidental either but a deeper analysis will take too much space on what is only meant to be a review of the movie. Still, it should be safe to say that the morally corrupt police chief represents the wayward and abusive authority of the morally bankrupt state, the morally upright whore represents the marginalized urban outcasts trying to survive the times and her "savior" the do-gooder police officer represents the middle class in search of a better tomorrow.