Quatro Gerações

It was impossible to stay away from the hype for a new Berkun Oya movie after the great Bir Baskadir. In that sense maybe Cici does not hit as hard but it is no way a waste of one's time. The relationship between the father and the son is a very important theme and Orhan Pamuk says the father always kills the son in the East, which in a way is the case here. In Cici, the storyline that did not translate to me was the Cemil-Saliha love as I can not picture Saliha remaining emotionally attached after moving to the big city. The scene where Olgun Simsek argues with Okan Yalabik was incredible where I can swear it happened just in front of me. The casting was perfect with the transitions between young and old versions were flawless. The family discussion at the barbecue/mangal revealed all the real intentions of characters in a very natural way where the writing was sublime. One last bit of question on my side is whether Saliha spent enough time in Ankara to become the rather sophisticated urban woman that is portraited but this might be quite picky.

Anatolian family drama... oldest tale on this land. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's not fresh. It's not original or bold, but it is... new, you know. Like renewed antiques.

Oya did it again of course and has been acknowledged by his trademarks, zoom in/outs, dark and folkloric comedy, keep the characters centered and so on.

Writing is good, acting is superb (except fatih artman, who is one of my favorites but dude can only act angry, shouting, rude man). Casting is spot on.

However it's long. Oh man it's long. It's like dragging on and on and on. You are not Nuri Bilge Ceylan, you know. Keep it short keep it fresh.

Must see

8/10.

Sweetie I especially admire the narration by the director when he points out the verbal violence in families. Also, it is striking how the brain copes with the guilt. To me, the film screams for a few things: The domestic violence exists- it is not only physical as some believe. Patriarchic father figure and mother instinct have just crashed into each other! Suppressed emotions always find a way to be revealed. Traumas, which mean being wounded mentally, sometimes require our attention, again and again- Being recalled by the brain means that they needs to be resolved.

Just like a bleeding scar.

First of all, I liked the picture. The terrain is perfect and reminded me my own childhood and i like the pictures that i could relate.

Secondly actor performances is perfect. If I should be more specific I loved the the way that Ayca Bingol acted.

Even though actor performances are brilliant, build up is weak. One minor event led huge consequences which is not believable for me. In Turkey's world almost everybody has much more trauma that we need push down so I would expect more strong back story from Berkun Oya who is very capable to do so.

I can not wait to watch next project of Berkun Oya.

Discounting a couple of problems caused by two distinct narration styles applied in the beginning scenes and the rest parts of the movie, Cici is a fascinating family drama. Despite its plain and unagitating langue, the movie skilfully achieves to build a riveting and immersive story.

In addition to many succesful scenes and glorious acting performances, this movie also deserves attention even for only mesmerizing performance of Olgun Simsek (character Cemil), who creates an excellent scene (in the middle part of the movie) with an inimitable smile spreading a great sorrow.

Congratulations to director-writer Berkun Oya and the whole team.