I am impressed with the level of production values in this movie. The effects are so much better than is typical for Turkish cinema, and I think the popularity and success of the Valley of the Wolves series and now movies begins to take Turkish film to a more competitive level, internationally. I now this one got attention for the way it mixes the politics of a very sensitive region with a good action drama. Still, it's mostly action drama. This is obvious in the generally dry acting jobs, even by the Turkish familiars and the special guest Americans, slumming for a worthwhile role in this ambitious little film.
Anyway, I won't go into the particulars of all the inaccuracies in this film. I'm sure the producers knew what they were sacrificing in the simple depictions of Americans, Kurds, and of course the Turks. Typical of Turkish cinema, everyone is a cartoon - a cutout of a real person, spouting the necessary lines to carry the plot forward. However, intersperse this with a few genuine scenes of cultural diversity and a backdrop of a truly sensitive political bed of coals, and this is an enjoyable bit of entertainment.
The suicide bomber scene was especially effective in its portrayal of the real horror of such an act. My biggest complaint with the film was that I couldn't pinpoint where most of the action was tacking place. The trigger fingers on the Americans labeled it as somewhere outside of Kurdish-controlled regions, where Americans have never patrolled, but every caption mentioned Suleymaniye or Erbil, which are definitely Kurdish regions.
The subtitles in the film I watched were out of sync by about 30 seconds, so I'm glad that a) so much of the dialogue was in English and b) I am familiar enough with Arabic and Turkish (and a touch of Kurdish that found its way into the script) to plug in the translations into the appropriate places) This isn't the fault of the filmmakers, but a warning to any non-Turkish speakers trying to view various copies of the film
All around, a movie, not too far off of what a Western depiction of the region and its internal conflicts would appear to be. It has a story and uses the setting just as that - a setting, not as the story itself. For the real story, every viewer must either judge for himself, or speak to those who have been through it.
Anyway, I won't go into the particulars of all the inaccuracies in this film. I'm sure the producers knew what they were sacrificing in the simple depictions of Americans, Kurds, and of course the Turks. Typical of Turkish cinema, everyone is a cartoon - a cutout of a real person, spouting the necessary lines to carry the plot forward. However, intersperse this with a few genuine scenes of cultural diversity and a backdrop of a truly sensitive political bed of coals, and this is an enjoyable bit of entertainment.
The suicide bomber scene was especially effective in its portrayal of the real horror of such an act. My biggest complaint with the film was that I couldn't pinpoint where most of the action was tacking place. The trigger fingers on the Americans labeled it as somewhere outside of Kurdish-controlled regions, where Americans have never patrolled, but every caption mentioned Suleymaniye or Erbil, which are definitely Kurdish regions.
The subtitles in the film I watched were out of sync by about 30 seconds, so I'm glad that a) so much of the dialogue was in English and b) I am familiar enough with Arabic and Turkish (and a touch of Kurdish that found its way into the script) to plug in the translations into the appropriate places) This isn't the fault of the filmmakers, but a warning to any non-Turkish speakers trying to view various copies of the film
All around, a movie, not too far off of what a Western depiction of the region and its internal conflicts would appear to be. It has a story and uses the setting just as that - a setting, not as the story itself. For the real story, every viewer must either judge for himself, or speak to those who have been through it.
