Customer Reviews

Yol [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a beautiful film. The film was directed by Yilmaz Guney when he was in jail. The assistant director Serif Goren shot the film in absence of Guney. There are lots of debates about who deserves the credit. As like any good films, the process of the making a film, is not just with the cinematography, or editing or script writing, it's more with the vision and how each pieces of work are integrated together to represent the final vision of the film. Although there are not much of materials to indicate who delivers this final form, I tend to believe that it's Guney's work of art. Even besides the controversy, this film is beautiful creation of art. The films runs parallel with the life of five prisoner, when they are released for one week, a sort of vacation. When these characters came out of the prison, through series of check post, they finally arrives their familiar surroundings which again symbolize them as a victim of cultural repression. It is a personal film, of certain characters who are the victim of repression, political and cultural both. Probably for any aspiring society to be liberated from repression, it is necessary identify the roots of repression which has it roots in cultural blindness and also the political aspiration of the elite class. And they often converge very well. These are just two sides of a coin, which lay down victims on both the side as it rolls on. This beautifully displays the emotion, naďve emotions of human aspiration, parallels across different cultures, and their conflicts deeply rooted in the culture. The editing of the film is superb, and that's why I reserve to take the credit away from Guney, who blend the glimpses, moments of different people, different ambience, smoothly, to resembles like a poetry of basic human emotions, their desires and their conflicts. I agree with the other reviewer, that it's not the best documentary of Turkey, but again that's not the point. This is a seriously film, who are interested getting involved with the character, and let aside their judgmental intelligence. This film is something to be seen and feel, and the rationalization comes much later.

This is a rare three-star masterpiece; one must consider that the average (in this case even the above average) viewer will not see the art of this epic--only an overlong, grainy old foreign film which is slow and hard to follow. (Sad but true) The late snow-travel scenes are absolutely surreal: in a blizzard, passing an ornate, leafless tree, a father carries his swooning wife while she is beaten by their five year-old son to keep her awake and alive. My mother's comment, regardless of cultural reality, was that the women in this film were nothing but instruments for men's suffering...that and no one's ever happy. One leaves with thorough and all-too-tempting-to-generalize view of Turkey as a war-torn, miserable, impoverished, and just plain backward country. It illustrates what happens when "family" is, perhaps, a little TOO important (honor, shame, etc.). Considering the circumstances, this is an amazing film, but it's not one someone would(/could?) watch again and again. Be prepared to gasp and feel guilty for being able to "kick back" with a movie.

First,let me clarify this.. The director of this movie is not Yilmaz Guney. It is Serif Goren, who was Guney's assistant in his previous movies.. Guney wrote the script, but it was filmed by Goren in 1981 in Southeastern Turkey (where I was born) under very difficult conditions after the military coup . It was then rewarded Palme D'Or in Cannes in 1982, along with Costa Gavras's Missing, both being political films.It was illegal in Turkey until recently. This is probably what gave it its cult status in Turkey. So far so good.

I was able to see the movie at a college show in Istanbul in 1996. I had heard so much about the movie ("the best Turkish movie ever", "a masterpiece" etc.) and had great expectations. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met and I left the theater bored.

The movie starts with a good idea (five prisoners are given a week's home leave). The prisoners are then faced with the harsh reality of the traditions. (One is forced to kill his unfaithful wife by the woman's family, one is forced to marry his sister-in-law since his brother was killed by the soldiers, etc.) Some directors might have created a masterpiece from this, but Goren fails. The characters are shallow and one-dimesional. Goren tries but fails to explore the alienation of the prisoners from the traditions of the society. After a certain point, the movie turns into an unpleasant touristic journey in southeastern Turkey.

"Yol" is one of those movies much debated for its politics rather than its artistic value. It shares the same destiny with Kusturica's Underground(1995). Kusturica was criticized for being politically incorrect in Underground(accusing Croatians and Slovenians for supporting Nazis, the only Bosnian in the movie being a gambler and a gun smuggler, etc.)"Yol" is praised so much because, I think, it is politically correct. It portrays Turkey as a miserable and backward country. I am not saying this is completely untrue,but this is probably why it was rewarded with Palm D'Or in Cannes. Not because of its artistic value. "The Night of the Shooting Stars" by Taviani Brothers is much better artistically. But it was only rewarded the Special Jury Prize.

The view of Turkey in this movie matches the European view of Turkey at that time, simply "hell". As a person who lived in the region, I don't think this is realistic after all. Overall, the movie is not that good. I wish it was shot by a better director.

PS: Yilmaz Guney was not in prison because of his political thoughts and views at that time, as one of the reviewers say. He was in prison, simply because he shot a prosecutor in a restaurant. A fact that does not affect my respect for him, though. I like his earlier movies better, my favorite one being "Agit-Elegy".


Edit: I've just seen this movie again after almost 10 years. I have to say that now I find my previous review somewhat unjust. It's indeed a political movie, and Guney makes his point. Yes, some of the traditions portrayed in the movie are not common practices in Turkey, however they still exist, albeit marginal. The acting is amateurish mostly (the intonations are laughable) , but hey, these are non-actors, anyway, and the actors do a good job. (Tarik Akan -- Seydali--, in particular, who became famous with his charming looks in comedies in early '70s. Hard to tell here.)
But it's the powerful details that makes it a great movie. Blind gypsy kids playing the popular tune of the day "Sabuha" on the bus, the posters of Bulent Ersoy, the transsexual singer, next to the posters of Kenan Evren, the head of the military coup (who, by the way, banned Bulent Ersoy from performing), homeless kids smoking. Things that could not have been captured on film by anyone, but Yilmaz Guney himself.

I believe the film to be as the masterpiece of Yilmaz Guney's career and for any person to see. It reflects the problems faced by convicts and ordinary people in the region of South-Eastern Turkey like most of Yilmaz Guneys films do. The film was awarded the Palme D'Or at the Cannes film festival in 1982. Yilmaz Guney wrote the script and smuggled it out when he himself was in prison for his Political thoughts and views.So he had a insight into the lifes of these people. The film is of excellent Quality and truely reflects the hardship faced by similar people of the time and place. Serif Goren directed the film and Yilmaz Guney later fleed prison to seek Asylum in France where he later died.His work is still recognised today and he is seen as the greatest Turkish/Kurdish director and scripwriter.

One word can really sum up this movie - WOW! This is a brilliant film written objectively; it realistically depicts life in Turkey. Yilmaz Guney mastered "Yol" and he deserves much due praise for this masterpiece. Tarik Akan, a supreme Turkish actor, displayed the role of "Seyit" flawlessly and the remaining four prisoners, which the film closely followed, perfected their characters, instilling much deep feeling into the hearts of the audience. This film is an excellent tool in trying to familiarize oneself about the Turkish-Kurdish lifestyle and the role of the Turkish government. The audience is not subjected to any biases; instead, they are able to view the situation through both lenses - the Kurds and the government. This is honestly one of the best films I have seen, other works pale in comparison.

The most eloquent protest against the rampant struggling oppression, and oppressive government and autoritarism is expressed marvelously in this breathtaking film that will let you shocked due the realism and the crudeness of its own nature.

Winner of the Grand Prix in Cannes. A true artistic feat of his Director Serif Goren.Go for this one.

It is less than amazing this film has not been released on DVD format!

Considering that the screenplay was done by Yilmaz who had a first-hand experience of life in prison, this gives more credibility to the movie and adds to its realism. Great acting too.

This movie affected me a thousand times more than any other movie ever has--everything in it is completely perfectly done; all of the characters are perfectly acted, it's perfectly directed and written. Brilliant. Extremely difficult to watch because of the painful realism but, despite some other reviewers' complaints, the story was to me ultimately a personal story, and it was the way the individuals interacted that struck me; it was not solely a political film. I came out of the theatre seven hours ago, yet simply remembering certain scenes can still make me cry--and I imagine will continue to be able to. I'm definitely going to have to try and track down some other Yilmaz Guney films; I can't compliment this one enough.

If one is interested in understanding the life of people in Eastern Turkey under the army and traditional ideas, this is for you. It is a hard, evocative view of another world.

Excellent price compared to Amazon's list price. Thank you Amazon for providing this internal competition!