Cenneti Beklerken

To date CENNETI BEKLERKEN has been the only totally historical drama in director Dervis Zaim's oeuvre.

However, as expected from a director so preoccupied with temporal relationships, the action consciously oscillates between different levels of reality. It is basically a quest-narrative focusing on hard-pressed miniaturist Eflatun (Serhat Tutumler) who is forced on an expedition to quell a rebellion against the Sultan, and to draw the head of the rebel, once he is eventually killed. Unwilling to undertake the duty, he is forced to on pain of death. He eventually completes his task, but finds the Sultan's reaction is not what he anticipated.

Within this structure director Zaim offers a meditation on the miniaturist's art. It was said that a good artist was in contact with the divinity; Zaim does not go that far, but does suggest that he is equipped with the power to deconstruct realities. This is suggested through a remaking of Velazquez's "Las Meninas," which appears as a work dedicated to rebel leader Danyal (Nihat Ileri), using the original Velasquez form, but adapted to Ottoman cultures. Through this device Zaim makes us reflect on whom art belongs to, and the role of the viewer in the artistic exchange.

Like many of Zaim's films, CENNETI BEKLERKEN is a work that befits repeated viewings, so as to uncover its subtleties. It is not an easy watch, but ultimately a rewarding one.