Turkey's Yilmaz Guney is one of the world's most fascinating filmmakers. That is not to say his films are perfect, but given the context in which they were created, (this is a man who, after spending much of his adult life in prison, eventually escaped only to die of cancer soon after, and yet still completed twenty-four features as a director, and countless others as an actor) they are examples of great art being made under the most pressing circumstances. I myself have seen precious little of Guney's work, but what I have seen (six "serious" films, and two escapist B-budget action flicks) has impressed me to no end.
"Arkadas" is not my favorite Guney movie, that would still have to be "The Wall" (1983), but it is nonetheless an intelligent, important work, that is fully deserving of analysis. Unfortunately, "Arkadas" is not available here, and the only copy I could find was not subtitled. This proved to be a blessing in disguise, as it helped me further concentrate on and appreciate the formal aspects of the film. Later, I was given a detailed explanation of many of the dialogue scenes, and the more subtle aspects of the film were revealed to me, letting me enjoy the film a second time around in a whole new way.
In "Arkadas", Guney plays Azem, a man with a mysterious past who one day arrives at the posh Istanbul home of an old friend, Djemil. Azem and Djemil were friends from childhood, who both became engineers. But while Azem used his knowledge to help small communities become more productive, Djemil has become corrupt and lives a decadent life in the city. Azem's arrival stirs up latent tensions in Djemil's family, and the lives of many people in Djemil's community are also affected, including a young laborer from a poor background who works odd jobs in the community, and rebels against his surroundings by breaking windows and slashing car tires. After Azem brings Djemil back to their home village, they return the city, where they finally say goodbye to each other. As Azem leaves Djemil's house we hear what sounds like a gunshot. Although many writers have stated that Djemil commits suicide at the end, we in-fact do not see this, and it is left ambiguous if even Azem hears any noise, as his immediate action after the noise is to crack a large smile and greet his new friend, the young laborer.
Upon first viewing the film, although strikingly made and undeniably interesting, seems nonetheless didactic and simplistic. Guney seems to portray himself as the representative of correct thinking, while the capitalist friend is clearly in the wrong. However, when exploring the film closer, we see that the character of Azem is also flawed. Guney portrays Azem as self-righteous. In other words, Guney knows that Azem sees himself as infallible. Azem in-fact fails to take into account the situation in which Djemil has found himself. Azem doesn't realize that Djemil can't change his situation overnight, that it took him years to build his life, and its undoing would leave Djemil with nothing to live for.
So, if the film is not as simplistic as it first seems, that still leaves the matter of its didactic tone. Yes, the film is didactic, but that didacticism comes out of an urgency to seriously and intelligently explore the issues that Guney felt were important for a Turkish audience to relate to. Although many films had been made in Turkey that went against the B-budget action formula that most North-Americans think of when they think (if at all) of Turkish cinema, no other film up to that time were as politically motivated as "Arkadas", and this must be taken into account.
As I have stated before, I saw the film without subtitles, so the formal aspects of the film are what struck me first, and "Arkadas" is a formally brilliant work. While the narrative is fairly simple (though like I said, not simplistic) and straight forward, Guney breaks up the narrative with impressionistic, and sometimes almost surreal sequences that give the film a distinctive tone. The film begins with a montage of bourgeoisie citizens at play. The film is peppered with these montages that work in almost the way as Yasujro Ozu's "pillow shots" do: they provide a break in the action to let the viewer contemplate what he/she has seen.
Later, a similar montage of poor children in a small village is rudely broken up by freeze frames that suddenly go from color to black & white. We then see that these are points of view from the cameras of tourists who are using the children as backdrops for their photos, but clearly have no understanding for their situation. Another surreal sequence involves a scene where citizens of the bourgeois community seemingly don't notice a groups of tanks as they rumble past their houses. The action in the film is interrupted as we, un-like the people in the film watch the tanks. The scene ends and the people go on as if nothing happened. Guney seems to be commenting on the way in which the Turkish people have let themselves be overpowered by dictatorial forces, instead of revolting against the oppressive state.
Of course, as is well known, Guney was jailed shortly after completion of this film. Although the charge was murder, he was in fact a political prisoner, since it was quite clear that he was innocent. It would be nine years before he would personally direct another film again, "The Wall", after years of directing "by proxy" from prison. Although those films and "The Wall" show a continuation of his maturing themes, and are great works in their own right, it still makes one sad to think that the Turkish government stalled the career one of their most gifted filmmakers, and prevented the world from having more of his films to enjoy and discuss.
"Arkadas" is not my favorite Guney movie, that would still have to be "The Wall" (1983), but it is nonetheless an intelligent, important work, that is fully deserving of analysis. Unfortunately, "Arkadas" is not available here, and the only copy I could find was not subtitled. This proved to be a blessing in disguise, as it helped me further concentrate on and appreciate the formal aspects of the film. Later, I was given a detailed explanation of many of the dialogue scenes, and the more subtle aspects of the film were revealed to me, letting me enjoy the film a second time around in a whole new way.
In "Arkadas", Guney plays Azem, a man with a mysterious past who one day arrives at the posh Istanbul home of an old friend, Djemil. Azem and Djemil were friends from childhood, who both became engineers. But while Azem used his knowledge to help small communities become more productive, Djemil has become corrupt and lives a decadent life in the city. Azem's arrival stirs up latent tensions in Djemil's family, and the lives of many people in Djemil's community are also affected, including a young laborer from a poor background who works odd jobs in the community, and rebels against his surroundings by breaking windows and slashing car tires. After Azem brings Djemil back to their home village, they return the city, where they finally say goodbye to each other. As Azem leaves Djemil's house we hear what sounds like a gunshot. Although many writers have stated that Djemil commits suicide at the end, we in-fact do not see this, and it is left ambiguous if even Azem hears any noise, as his immediate action after the noise is to crack a large smile and greet his new friend, the young laborer.
Upon first viewing the film, although strikingly made and undeniably interesting, seems nonetheless didactic and simplistic. Guney seems to portray himself as the representative of correct thinking, while the capitalist friend is clearly in the wrong. However, when exploring the film closer, we see that the character of Azem is also flawed. Guney portrays Azem as self-righteous. In other words, Guney knows that Azem sees himself as infallible. Azem in-fact fails to take into account the situation in which Djemil has found himself. Azem doesn't realize that Djemil can't change his situation overnight, that it took him years to build his life, and its undoing would leave Djemil with nothing to live for.
So, if the film is not as simplistic as it first seems, that still leaves the matter of its didactic tone. Yes, the film is didactic, but that didacticism comes out of an urgency to seriously and intelligently explore the issues that Guney felt were important for a Turkish audience to relate to. Although many films had been made in Turkey that went against the B-budget action formula that most North-Americans think of when they think (if at all) of Turkish cinema, no other film up to that time were as politically motivated as "Arkadas", and this must be taken into account.
As I have stated before, I saw the film without subtitles, so the formal aspects of the film are what struck me first, and "Arkadas" is a formally brilliant work. While the narrative is fairly simple (though like I said, not simplistic) and straight forward, Guney breaks up the narrative with impressionistic, and sometimes almost surreal sequences that give the film a distinctive tone. The film begins with a montage of bourgeoisie citizens at play. The film is peppered with these montages that work in almost the way as Yasujro Ozu's "pillow shots" do: they provide a break in the action to let the viewer contemplate what he/she has seen.
Later, a similar montage of poor children in a small village is rudely broken up by freeze frames that suddenly go from color to black & white. We then see that these are points of view from the cameras of tourists who are using the children as backdrops for their photos, but clearly have no understanding for their situation. Another surreal sequence involves a scene where citizens of the bourgeois community seemingly don't notice a groups of tanks as they rumble past their houses. The action in the film is interrupted as we, un-like the people in the film watch the tanks. The scene ends and the people go on as if nothing happened. Guney seems to be commenting on the way in which the Turkish people have let themselves be overpowered by dictatorial forces, instead of revolting against the oppressive state.
Of course, as is well known, Guney was jailed shortly after completion of this film. Although the charge was murder, he was in fact a political prisoner, since it was quite clear that he was innocent. It would be nine years before he would personally direct another film again, "The Wall", after years of directing "by proxy" from prison. Although those films and "The Wall" show a continuation of his maturing themes, and are great works in their own right, it still makes one sad to think that the Turkish government stalled the career one of their most gifted filmmakers, and prevented the world from having more of his films to enjoy and discuss.
