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Guney Series | Doc Films Chicago
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Article | Yilmaz Güney: spirit of vengeance
PROTEST WEEK / FILM
Yilmaz Güney: spirit of vengeance
Posted by Ben Sachs on 02.22.12 at 08:00 AM
Last Saturday I saw the Turkish film Elegy (1972) at Doc Films’s ongoing Yilmaz Güney series (which continues tomorrow night at 7 PM with the director’s most widely celebrated movie, Yol). I liked it for its suspense, but I had trouble understanding the plot. I asked one of the programmers afterward if he could explain why gendarmes were hunting down the main characters, who are never shown doing anything illegal. Was this bad storytelling or had I missed something in the dialogue? A scholar of Turkish history interrupted us (good thing the movie was playing at the University of Chicago!) and settled the matter in seconds. “Those people were Kurds—the Turkish government was trying to deny their existence at the time. The government banned this movie, just like they did most of the films Güney directed.”
A major movie star, novelist, and director, Güney came from a mostly Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey (the name for which he was known was in fact a pseudonym; güney is Turkish for “south”), though he didn’t openly embrace his ethnic background until the early 1970s, when the Kurdish nationalist movement gained momentum with support from the militant Turkish left, with which Güney was also affiliated. One can understand his apprehension to identify publicly as a Kurd. The Turkish government’s ongoing persecution of the ethnic minority resulted in the death and imprisonment of millions throughout the 20th century—a crisis that only intensified during Turkey’s periods of military rule that coincided with the height of Güney’s popularity. As J. Hoberman noted in a 1982 profile of Güney (included in his collection Vulgar Modernism):
The words “Kurd and “Kurdistan” are [currently] banned from Turkish history books and dictionaries; the Kurds are officially termed “Mountain Turks,” who speak Kurdish—itself illegal—because they have forgotten their mother tongue... Identity grows existential when the statement “I am a Kurd” brings a mandatory two-and-a-half stretch in a Turkish can.

Seen in this context, Güney’s Kurdish films are remarkable acts of protest, defying a national code of silence on the plight of many. Hoberman went so far as to call Yol “a movie so explosive that were it shown in his homeland it would signal the prelude to a revolution.” He added that the film “is about the essential, unspeakable Kurdishness of Turkey . . . it asserts that, under military rule, all Turks are now Kurds—the oppressed of the oppressed.” Their cruder qualities only betray a sense of urgency, as if Güney would have undermined the films’ impact had he devoted more time to their construction. The images of Elegy tend to be blunt and immediate: the ones I expect to remember longest are of lone figures running across dusty steppes, only to be shot down in their flight by agents of the law.
Yol (1982)
Does art become a more effective instrument of protest as it becomes less nuanced? Probably. When a crowd of thousands is chanting the same thing, you’re so impressed by their collective might that you don’t try to make out individual voices. Güney’s straightforward images can be similarly overwhelming, suggesting basic conflicts that may be understood—and thus related to others—by anyone. (That’s not to say that protest cinema must be blunt to be successful; Jafar Panahi’s nuanced films The Circle (2000) and Crimson Gold (2003) raised international awareness of injustice in Iran and were good enough to be banned at home.) As one of the most famous Kurds of his era, Güney used his celebrity to speak for millions; and as this current Doc series attests, their anger still resounds powerfully.
Lincoln Center Program Includes 3 Guney Films
The Film Society together with the Moon and Stars Project of The American Turkish Society will present a 29-film survey of Turkish cinema, the largest such program ever mounted in the U.S.
Just like the nation itself, Turkish cinema has always stood between traditions: richly informed about currents in European and American filmmaking while imbibing influences from Egyptian, Indian and--more recently--Iranian cinema, creating a fascinating mixture of styles and approaches. The 1960s saw the emergence of powerful, socially engaged filmmakers, perhaps best represented by Yılmaz Güney (a special focus of this series), as well as a highly commercial, extremely popular cinema, known as Yeşilçam, to which a new generation of Turkish film scholars has begun to turn its attention. In recent years, popular Turkish cinema has largely migrated to television, while a strong current of more personal auteurs—Fatih Akın, Zeki Demirkubuz, Yeşim Ustaoǧlu, and especially Nuri Bilge Ceylan—have been widely screened in international film festivals and art cinemas. There’s much to discover in Turkish cinema; it is our hope that this selection will whet your appetites for much more to come.
Series programmed by Richard Peña.
IN THIS SERIES
40 Square Meters of Germany
Tevfik Başer, 1986
Tevfik Başer boldly opened new ground for the Turkish cinema with the deeply moving portrait of one woman’s experience as a guest worker’s wife living in Germany.
Can
Raşit Çelikezer, 2011
Opening night! Post-screening Q&A with director Rasit Celikezer!
A couple’s obsession with having a child runs parallel to a single woman’s neglectful treatment of her only child in Raşit Çelikezer’s award-winning new film.
Climates
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2006
Brilliantly shot with a digital camera, Ceylan’s trailblazing relationship drama chronicles the journey of a man (played by Ceylan) across Turkey after breaking up with his longtime girlfriend.
Confession
Zeki Demirkubuz, 2002
A taut, beautifully acted psychological drama about a husband who suspects his wife of having an affair, but is terrified that confronting her about it might prove she really is.
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
Fatih Akin, 2005
Musical performance by oud player Harold Hagopian in the Furman Gallery before the screening, beginning at 9:30pm!
Gliding from Turkish rap to Kurdish laments, and Roma-flavored jazz to the great diva Müzeyyen Senar, Fatih Akın’s documentary brilliantly captures the sights and especially the sounds of Istanbul.
Despite Everything
Orhan Oǧuz, 1988
Just released from prison, Hasan tries to make his way in a rapidly changing Turkish society in this impressive debut feature by cinematographer-turned-director Oǧuz.
Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite
Tunç Başaran, 1989
Sent to prison along with his mother after her drug conviction, a young boy develops a warm, tender relationship with a political prisoner.
Dry Summer
Metin Erksan, 1963
Winner of the Golden Bear at the 1964 Berlin Film Festival, Metin Erksan’s searing political fable pits brothers against brother in a struggle between family loyalty and communal duty.
Elegy
Yilmaz Güney, 1971
Turkish cinema scholar Erju Ackman in person at the May 4 screening to discuss the work of Yılmaz Güney!
Güney directed, wrote and starred in this stirring tale of a notorious smuggler coming to terms with the corrupt society in which he’s considered an “outlaw.”
Future Lasts Forever
Özcan Alper, 2011
Closing night! Post-screening Q&A with director Ozcan Alper!
On a research trip to collect elegies from southeastern Turkey, a university student must confront her own story of love and loss inAutumn director Alper’s superb second film.
Hazal
Ali Özgentürk, 1981
Post-screening Q&A with director Ali Ozgenturk!
Türkan Şoray enjoyed one of her finest roles in Ali Özgentürk’s debut feature, playing a woman forced to marry her 11-year-old brother-in-law after her husband dies.
Hope
Yilmaz Güney, 1970
Yılmaz Güney directed, wrote and starred in this searing tale of a wagon-driver desperately trying to support his family as the dawning automotive era renders him obsolete.
Journey to the Sun
Yeşim Ustaoğlu, 1999
Post-screening Q&A with director Yesim Ustaoglu!
The friendship between two migrants to Istanbul, one a Kurd and one a Turk, forms the basis of this controversial drama.
Kosmos
Reha Erdem, 2010
Wed May 9: 8:45 pm
This densely layered, magic-realist flavored tale chronicles the consequences of the arrival of a supposed holy man in a forgotten Turkish town.
Motherland Hotel
Ömer Kavur, 1987
The promised yet unfulfilled return of a mysterious hotel guest drives its proprietor to madness in Ömer Kavur’s award-winning adaptation of Yusuf Atilgan’s novel.
My Aunt
Halit Refiǧ, 1987
A giant of Turkish filmmaking, Halit Refiǧ made one of his finest films with this searing tale of a woman destroyed by those closest to her, featuring a remarkable Müjde Ar in the lead role.
My Cinemas
Füruzan Karamustafa, Gülsün Karamustafa, 1990
A young girl finds refuge from her brutal home life in the images and stories from the silver screen, but as she becomes an adult discovers that the cinema can be its own kind of trap.
O Beautiful Istanbul
Atıf Yılmaz, 1966
A world-weary street photographer tries to dispel the optimism of an aspiring actress, only to find himself catching the fever in Atıf Yılmaz ’s much-loved comedy.
On Fertile Lands
Erden Kıral, 1979
Banned by the military and for decades virtually lost, this searing indictment of the harsh treatment of rural workers in southern Turkey remains as topical today as ever.
Revenge of the Snakes
Metin Erksan, 1962
The template for Turkey’s realist cinema, Metin Erksan’s masterpiece dissects the tensions that erupt in a small eastern village after a property dispute between neighbors.
Secret Face
Ömer Kavur, 1991
A photographer’s search for a mysterious woman turns into a metaphysical journey in this gripping tale directed by Ömer Kavur and written by Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk.
Somersault in a Coffin
Derviş Zaim, 1996
A darkly comic fable about those left behind while the economy surges ahead, Derviş Zaim’s impressive debut shows a side of contemporary Turkey rarely seen on screen.
Steam: The Turkish Bath
Ferzan Ozpetek, 1997
Inheriting a steam bath from an aunt he’d never met, Francesco (Alessandro Gassman) travels to Istanbul and confronts the possibility of a new life in director Ozpetek’s stunning feature debut.
Read more...
Summer Book
Seyfi Teoman, 2008
A languid Mediterranean summer is interrupted by the sudden illness of 10-year old Ali’s father in this perceptive portrait of a family living through crisis.
The Girl With the Red Scarf
Atif Yılmaz, 1977
One of the all-time most popular Turkish films, a tender and touching reflection on love and responsibility brought to the screen with great sensitivity.
The Law of the Border
Lütfi Ö. Akad, 1966
For many, the new Turkish Cinema of the 1960s was born with this epic smuggling drama and social exposé starring Yılmaz Güney, beautifully restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.
The Space Between: The Trajectory of Cinema in Turkey
Free panel discussion!
Join film scholars Fatih Özgüven and Zeynep Dadak and directors Raşit Çelikezer, Ali Ozgenturk, and Yesim Ustaoglu for this provocative panel discussion on the past, present and future of Turkish cinema.
Three Friends
Memduh Ũn, 1958
A warm, Chaplinesque social comedy about three penniless friends who meet a beautiful blind girl and create for her an Istanbul of the imagination.
Vizontele
Yılmaz Erdoğan, Ömer Faruk Sorak, 2001
Thu May 10: 2:00 pm
The introduction of the first television set into a small village sparks social confrontation and a lot of laughs in this popular comedy that spawned a number of sequels.
Yol
Şerif Gören, 1982
Fri May 4: 8:30 pm
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, this most famous of all Turkish films, about five prisoners given a week’s furlough, was directed by Gören from a detailed screenplay by jailed auteur Yılmaz Güney.
Hope | Lincoln Center
HOPE
UMUT | YILMAZ GÜNEY, 1970
TURKEY | FORMAT: 35MM | 100 MINUTES
With Hope, Yılmaz Güney—already a popular screen actor—became a major director as well, blending together several of the richest currents in Turkey’s socially engaged cinema into a work that remains as powerful today as when first screened. Cabbar (played by Güney himself) supports his family by driving a broken-down horse-drawn wagon, but competition from taxis threatens to put him out of business. At wit’s end, Cabbar starts to search for a hidden treasure with the aid of a hodja, a mystic. Despite Cabbar’s frequent laments about the hand of fate that seems to rule his life, Güney is always careful to point out the very human causes behind his apparent destiny. Hope was banned in Turkey, but a copy was smuggled out to the Cannes Film Festival, where it caused a sensation; the official ban on the film would remain in effect on the film for almost twenty years.
SERIES: THE SPACE BETWEEN: A PANORAMA OF CINEMA IN TURKEY
VENUE: WALTER READE THEATER
Yol | Lincoln Center
YOL
ŞERIF GÖREN, 1982
TURKEY/SWITZERLAND/FRANCE | TURKISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 111 MINUTES
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, this most famous of all Turkish films starts in a prison, where those prisoners who have served at least a third of their time are given a week’s furlough to go home. Yet, as the film makes shockingly clear, going outside the prison walls doesn’t necessarily end one’s personal incarceration. Directed from a highly detailed screenplay by Yılmaz Güney (who was in jail at the time) by his close collaborator Şerif Gören, Yol renders each of its five principal stories with sympathy and clarity, creating a vibrant, visceral sense of prisoners’ world, while offering insights into their dreams and fears. Rarely has a film so effectively communicated an atmosphere defined by daily oppression, yet Yol is not without hope: grave as their family or romantic problems might be, each prisoner knows they must be addressed squarely.
SERIES: THE SPACE BETWEEN: A PANORAMA OF CINEMA IN TURKEY
VENUE: WALTER READE THEATER
Elegy | Lincoln Center
ELEGY
AĞIT | YILMAZ GÜNEY, 1971
TURKEY | FORMAT: 35MM | 80 MINUTES
Turkish cinema scholar Erju Ackman in person at the May 4 screening to discuss the work of Yılmaz Güney!
In this return to territory explored in earlier films such as Law of the Border, Yılmaz Güney—again working as director, writer and lead actor—offers a tale about smugglers working in southeastern Turkey. Çobanoǧlu is a former peasant who took to smuggling in order to survive, made notorious by his success in eluding capture. The locals compete with each other to give information on Çobanoǧlu to the authorities for a price, while the landowners aren’t above hiring him for some of their own dirty work. Yet through it all, Çobanoǧlu keeps his dignity, convinced there must be some way out of this vicious cycle of corruption. Once again, Güney creates a powerful portrait of a society feeding on itself, destroying its own possibilities for reform or improvement. The use of landscapes recalls the look and work of Peckinpah, whose own, similarly themed The Wild Bunch had just been released.
SERIES: THE SPACE BETWEEN: A PANORAMA OF CINEMA IN TURKEY
VENUE: WALTER READE THEATER
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Guney Series | Goethe-Institut Washington
9 May 2012 - 21 May 2012 Goethe-Institut Washington, GoetheForum
Schedule:
Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 pm The Herd (Sürü) Monday, May 21, 6:30 pm Yolinfo@washington.goethe.org
Turkish with English subtitles $7/$4 + 1 (202) 289-1200
Related links
"We're all somehow his children." — Fatih Akin
“An inspiration to countless subsequent directors, including the Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin (Head-On), who has spent the last years preparing a film about his self-declared hero, Güney drew on Italian neorealism to make his deeply humane and passionately committed works about the social reality of his country.” — James Quandt
Yilmaz Güney (1937–1984) is a legendary figure in Turkish cinema. His remarkable career trajectory led him from roles as a popular leading man to a filmmaker so politically dangerous Turkish authorities threw him in prison. Güney and his work became more widely-known in the Western world after his film Yol, banned in Turkey, won a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982. Films will be shown in Turkish with English subtitles. In cooperation with “The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yılmaz Güney”, at the Freer and Sackler Galleries May 6 – 20. Acknowledgements: Special thanks to the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Turkish Culture and Tourism Counselor's Office, Washington D.C.; Hüseyin Karabey, The Güney Foundation; Erju Ackman, Turkish Cinema Newsletter. All film prints supplied by the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture and Tourism - General Directorate of Copyright and Cinema / Telif Hakları ve Sinema Genel Müdürlüğü, Dr. Abdurrahman Çelik, General Director.
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