Eskiya
Encyclopedia
The Bandit is an award-winning 1996
Turkish
film written and directed by Yavuz Turgul
and starring Şener Şen
and Uğur Yücel
.
According to the director the film, which is about a Kurdish bandit who comes to Istanbul after serving a 35-year jail sentence, "blends fairy tale elements while carrying the notion of reality within a fictional story."
The film is enormously popular in its native Turkey where it drew in 2.5 million viewers and in Germany where it won a Bogey Award.
It was Turkey's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
at the 69th Academy Awards
.
), a eşkıya (a bandit, a haydut in Turkish
), is released from prison in a town in Eastern Turkey
. When returning to the home village he witness the fact that the world has changed dramatically during those years, with the village itself underwater after the construction of a dam. Then he also finds out that the person who masterminded the betrayal that brought him to jail was Berfo (Kamuran Usluer), a friend who had once been closer to him than a brother. In order to snare Keje (Sermin Şen), Baran's sweetheart, Berfo seized his best friends gold and had Baran arrested by the gendarmes on Mountain Cudi. Then Berfo purchased Keje from her father against her will, and disappeared. According to rumor, he is in Istanbul
.
While traveling to Istanbul by train, Baran meets Cumali (Uğur Yücel
), a young man. Cumali was raised in the alleys of Beyoğlu
, his life revolving around bars, gambling joints, alcohol, dope and women. Cumali dreams of joining the mafia and making it big. He takes Baran to a dilapidated hotel in the backstreet's of Beyoğlu. After a while, Cumali and his friends discover that Baran used to be a bandit, but they can't take it seriously. Cumali's dreams of a new life include Emel (Yeşim Salkım), his girlfriend. Emel has a convict brother, Sedat (Özkan Uğur
), who is in trouble with the other prisoners in his jail. His life is in danger, and he needs a high amount of money to get out. Cumali promises Emel to get the money for her brother as soon as possible. Thus, when he deals with a transport of drugs for the mafia, he steals a quantity, enough to secure the escaping of Sedat and also later to get him in trouble with Demircan (Melih Çardak), the mafia boss.
Meanwhile, the bandit is going through Istanbul in a daze, lost in a totally alien world, with no idea where to start looking for the woman he loves and the mortal enemy who has stolen her. After some days he happens to see Berfo on TV, now as a powerful businessman with the name changed...
, writing in Turkish Cinema, states, "Turgul's narrative imbued with sorrow weaves in elements of American action films and television clips," "pays freat attention to detail," and, "relies on the tradition of legends found in eastern literature."
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Turkish
Cinema of Turkey
Turkish cinema is an important part of Turkish culture, and has flourished over the years, delivering entertainment to audiences in Turkey, expatriates across Europe, and in rare cases, the USA....
film written and directed by Yavuz Turgul
Yavuz Turgul
Yavuz Turgul is a Turkish film director and screenwriter, who is best known for his box-office hit The Bandit and who has won the Golden Orange for Best Screenplay four times for Abbas in Flower , The Agha , Mr. Muhsin and The Shadow Play ; Golden Oranges for Best Film for Mr...
and starring Şener Şen
Sener Sen
Şener Şen is a Turkish film and theatre actor, who has won the Golden Orange for Best Actor twice for his roles in Mr...
and Uğur Yücel
Ugur Yücel
Uğur Yücel is a Turkish film actor, producer and director. He graduated from the Theater department at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory . He took part in several plays between 1975 and 1984 in Kenter Tiyatosu , Tef Kaber Theatre, Dormen Theatre, and Şan Müzikholü...
.
According to the director the film, which is about a Kurdish bandit who comes to Istanbul after serving a 35-year jail sentence, "blends fairy tale elements while carrying the notion of reality within a fictional story."
The film is enormously popular in its native Turkey where it drew in 2.5 million viewers and in Germany where it won a Bogey Award.
It was Turkey's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 69th Academy Awards
69th Academy Awards
The 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1996 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies The 69th Academy Awards were...
.
Plot
After serving a 35-year jail sentence, Baran (played by Şener ŞenSener Sen
Şener Şen is a Turkish film and theatre actor, who has won the Golden Orange for Best Actor twice for his roles in Mr...
), a eşkıya (a bandit, a haydut in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
), is released from prison in a town in Eastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. When returning to the home village he witness the fact that the world has changed dramatically during those years, with the village itself underwater after the construction of a dam. Then he also finds out that the person who masterminded the betrayal that brought him to jail was Berfo (Kamuran Usluer), a friend who had once been closer to him than a brother. In order to snare Keje (Sermin Şen), Baran's sweetheart, Berfo seized his best friends gold and had Baran arrested by the gendarmes on Mountain Cudi. Then Berfo purchased Keje from her father against her will, and disappeared. According to rumor, he is in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
While traveling to Istanbul by train, Baran meets Cumali (Uğur Yücel
Ugur Yücel
Uğur Yücel is a Turkish film actor, producer and director. He graduated from the Theater department at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory . He took part in several plays between 1975 and 1984 in Kenter Tiyatosu , Tef Kaber Theatre, Dormen Theatre, and Şan Müzikholü...
), a young man. Cumali was raised in the alleys of Beyoğlu
Beyoglu
Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...
, his life revolving around bars, gambling joints, alcohol, dope and women. Cumali dreams of joining the mafia and making it big. He takes Baran to a dilapidated hotel in the backstreet's of Beyoğlu. After a while, Cumali and his friends discover that Baran used to be a bandit, but they can't take it seriously. Cumali's dreams of a new life include Emel (Yeşim Salkım), his girlfriend. Emel has a convict brother, Sedat (Özkan Uğur
Özkan Ugur
Raif Özkan Uğur is a Turkish pop musician, member of the renowned band MFÖ and an actor.He started his musician career in the Şerif Yüzbaşıoğlu Orchestra as a bass guitarist. In 1971, Özkan joined Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner in the duo "Kaygısızlar" The band was dissolved in 1972...
), who is in trouble with the other prisoners in his jail. His life is in danger, and he needs a high amount of money to get out. Cumali promises Emel to get the money for her brother as soon as possible. Thus, when he deals with a transport of drugs for the mafia, he steals a quantity, enough to secure the escaping of Sedat and also later to get him in trouble with Demircan (Melih Çardak), the mafia boss.
Meanwhile, the bandit is going through Istanbul in a daze, lost in a totally alien world, with no idea where to start looking for the woman he loves and the mortal enemy who has stolen her. After some days he happens to see Berfo on TV, now as a powerful businessman with the name changed...
Cast
|
Settar Tanrıöğen -Selected filmography:-External links:... as Girl Naci |
Reviews
Sandra Brennan, writing on Allmovie, describes it as a, "lightning-paced, romantic actioner," but ultimately gave the movie only two out of a possible five stars, whilst Rekin TeksoyRekin Teksoy
Rekin Teksoy is a Turkish lawyer, author and translator.- Career :Teksoy taught courses in Istanbul University’s Communications Faculty on Art of Cinema and Cinema and Literature Relations for over twenty years. He served on the executive board of Turkish Cinematech Association...
, writing in Turkish Cinema, states, "Turgul's narrative imbued with sorrow weaves in elements of American action films and television clips," "pays freat attention to detail," and, "relies on the tradition of legends found in eastern literature."
Awards
- 1997 Bogey AwardsBogey AwardsThe Bogey Awards is a series of German film awards. The award is based on the number of people seeing a film within a given time frame. The prize is awarded by the industry's trade journal Blickpunkt: Film.*Titanium: Viewed by ten million people....
(Won) - 1998 Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival Gold Dolphin: Yavuz TurgulYavuz TurgulYavuz Turgul is a Turkish film director and screenwriter, who is best known for his box-office hit The Bandit and who has won the Golden Orange for Best Screenplay four times for Abbas in Flower , The Agha , Mr. Muhsin and The Shadow Play ; Golden Oranges for Best Film for Mr...
(Won)