A prime example of Yesilcam cinema at its best. All the stock characters are there: the mustachioed bad guy, the sartorially dapper good guy, the innocent girl, the bad girl and so on. The situations are familiar (one set of interior scenes taking place in a large house strike the Yesilcam fan as exceptionally familiar, indicating the film's low-budget origins, but the ambiance of early Sixties Istanbul remains hauntingly attractive; the winding streets, half-built luxury apartments and the American cars (the Lincoln, the Pontiac) that simply ate gas. Those interested in consciously "unoriginal" cinema that consciously borrowed soundtracks from western movies and included them - with a due lack of credit - in the mise-en-scene will enjoy watching (and listening) to this film. Izzet Gunay - as ever - makes a convincing central character, who remains more than able to take care of himself. Fatma Girik plays a feisty heroine, indulging in a highly convincing scrap with the bride at the end of the film (shades of TAMING OF THE SHREW, perhaps?) BARUT FICISI will never win awards for its quality, but it's definitely worth a look - even for non-Turkish speakers.
