Customer Reviews

Harem

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Most of the story is set in the Sultan's multi-ethnic harem in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. It is fascinating, "lush" historical drama and story-telling, beautifully acted. The film also raises interesting questions about memory and the telling of stories. Because of the way the story is told, with flashbacks within flashbacks, I had to watch it more than once to figure out what was going on, but I enjoyed each viewing immensely. Also, if you watch Ozpetek's "Steam Bath" ("Hamam"), which is set in modern-day Istanbul, you will see an understated link to this story. (...)

I enjoyed the movie. It teaches you a little bit about the Ottoman Empire from the point of view of women assigned to the ruler's harem. At first, I didn't want to see it because I thought it was some sort of porn, but it isn't at all. It's a decent movie.

This 1999 film in Turkish, Italian and French seemed interesting. It's set in 1908 during the fall of the Ottoman Empire and depicts one of the last harems. It's also a story of intrigue and romance. Some of it was quite interesting, especially the depictions of the daily life of the women. The acting was good and the mood was set just right, the cinematography showing the opulence of the palace as well as its restrictions.

Something was wrong with the screenplay however. My guess is that too much was left on the cutting room floor. As per the cover of the DVD, it was supposed to last 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, the disc I viewed was only about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was hard to figure out exactly what was happening and the story didn't fit together at all. There were flashbacks and flash forwards held together by a tale told by a servant which seemed to foretell the future. And the ending left a lot of questions unanswered.

Therefore, although there were some parts of this film that were good, and it might have been better when it was playing in the theaters, I just cannot recommend this DVD.

I own the VHS of this movie, and can tell you it is based on fact. What a tragic tale told so wonderfully. It has been said there is a lot of nudity, but truly not as much as one could expect. This film really does give the viewer a trip into the royal Turkish harem at the end of the Empire! You won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed watching this movie. The conflict between modern and old perspectives of serfdom is interesting. It is also interesting to see the change in the women status a century ago and to compare it to status quo today in e.g. the middle east.

The story-within-a-story approach works very well in this movie. The directing was at times a bit slow, but that suits the movie itself. The acting was quite good. We really enjoyed the complexity of the Eunich Nadir and his erotic love for the the main character.

This is the story of the last days and final fall of the Ottoman Empire as seen through the career of a member of the sultan's harem. While some parts of this story are presented in a rather sketchy manner, character development is good, and you actually care about the people involved - even the bad ones! The photography is beautiful, and the scenes in the bathhouse are appropriately steamy. The Instant Video version ran approximately one hour and forty-five minutes.

I could not stop watching it once I started. I did not mind the subtitles The richness of the setting The politics of life inside a harem. The tenderness of love between two forbidden lovers. The strength and courage of the main character._ Her will to survive and tenderness even after such loss in the world of men or Maybe because I'm older; but I felt such an affinity for the older version of the main character. The loss of beauty; outward that is. Her inward beauty to me still remained. I found myself hoping the rest of her life would be
filled with peace and happiness. Some would call this a chick flik; to me it is a human flik I've always been a sucker for love stories.

The setup of the movie sounds great. Lush historical drama set in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. Innovative way of story telling, a bit like the magical realism of novels. The story of Safiye is told by 2 voices: 1)by her maid servant to other royal concubines in the harem square as if it's a legend. 2)by herself as an old woman to an young woman whom she met at a train station in Italy. This seems to me hints that Safiye's story isn't that unique afterall. She's just the latest heroin living thru the life of a harem concubine.

While the story has great promises, it's very badly executed. The pace is ultra slow. Yes, this is not an action movie. It's just the movie often feels stalled. Dialogue seems forced. Poison? that's pretty lame as palace intrigue, isn't it? Romance with an eunuch? Wow, how surprising. Like there's any other man around... Turkish bath scenes seem to drag on and on. After a while, it doesn't serve any dramatic purpose except pandering to those after some exoticism. Worst of all is that acting is not convincing at all.

Bottom line: 1 star for the storyline and 1 more for the costume.

This is outrageous. I started watching Harem and was really interested (the movie is really good), but I could not finish seeing it that day. Now, when I try to see it two days after Amazon tells me that due to licensing agreement I cannot see this movie in instant view. What a really poor service Amazon is providing here.