Kurak Günler

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...

This is a very good film amidst all the drama surrounding the artistic product. In some ways, one can feel that the whole story was invented to bring us, the audience, to the masterfully symbolic ending of the movie. In a lot of ways that last 15 minutes is an encapsulation of last few years of Türkiye. Those being said, I did not find the relationship between the prosecutor and the journalist (which was quite central to the story) very realistic both in practical and aesthetic terms. Also, there were too many loose ends that were left open which can undermine the director's message. The movie will most certainly occupy an important place in Turkish cinematography, hopefully as a reminder of once crazy times.

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).

There's alot of nuances and layers to this film, playing with different genres and themes. And honestly, that's what I love about it. It's explores a variety of topics, yet it all comes together to point to the fundamental issue of the cracks and sinkhole of a society, quite literally, and how the outsider or individual feels the odds stacked against them when power is at play. Even the protagonist, we see him deal with his own internal desires and conflict of trying to do his job and be a figure of authority while also not being able to do much in a corrupt, conservative society. Loved it!!!!

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.