Turkey is a country which has been afflicted with terror-separatist ethnic or religious-for more than 25 years.Not only has this reign of terror caused the demise of thousands of innocent Turkish citizens but it has also resulted in an immense financial loss-a financial amount that could have been spent on education.The September 11 attacks which can be traced back to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan has proved to be a milestone in the history of politics.Unfortunately in the past ten years it gave rise to Islamophobia and even alienation of moderate Muslims. While many American movies have recently been made in the context of 9/11 it should be a unique effort to see the attacks in a Muslim context? The movie starts with a newsreel footage in which former US president Bush says "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." Then we see Yusuf (Caner Cindoruk), who seems to have been troubled with his past in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. Yusuf seems to be living in peace with his wife at first glance but when a senior dervish(Ghassan Massoud-Saladin of Kingdom of Heaven) from a lodge he once attended implies that Yusuf may have been connected with one of the 9/11 attackers we realize Yusuf needs to settle accounts with his past. When Yusuf starts to recount his story in a flashback dating back to four years we see a juxtaposition of "what really happened" and "what could have happened" in different circumstances.
In the hottest days of the Afghan civil war on which Islamist extremists fought against the interim government supported by Americans we see a group of voluntary Turkish youngsters opening a humanitarian and educational center in Afghanistan. They provide medical assistance, educational and alimentary aid under the jackboot of those extremists. While they win the hearts of moderate local people,they arouse the anger of extremists. With a bit of humanitarian aid and education the movie shows that many people can be kept from violence. In that sense the movie is really a humanitarian effort against terror to show the real,compassionate face of Islam, but it does not really give you an insight into the reasons why some people just go for violence. While there is a message that those extremists take Islam as an instrument to their interests,the movie does not really tell you whether Americans should be there;let alone the fact that they also cause civilian casualties. On one hand,innocent civilians are just cannon fodder in the hands of extremists (which you can see in the movie)on the other hand, they are just collateral damage for the US army (which the movie does not care to show) Other than that, the dialog and the acting could have been better. While there are a few memorable quotes by the Mevlevi dervish (Ghassan Massoud)the whole dialog should have been better given the fact that there is a Sufi context in the movie. Though Sahin Celik can be given credit for his portrayal of the guerrilla commander, most of the actors (who play extremists)put in hammy performances. In short, while Kelebek is a humanitarian movie it does not have the versatile quality a terror movie should naturally have. Let's hope Turkish cinema will make more movies on terrorism in the future because "Our helplessness, outrage and fear were not collateral damage."
In the hottest days of the Afghan civil war on which Islamist extremists fought against the interim government supported by Americans we see a group of voluntary Turkish youngsters opening a humanitarian and educational center in Afghanistan. They provide medical assistance, educational and alimentary aid under the jackboot of those extremists. While they win the hearts of moderate local people,they arouse the anger of extremists. With a bit of humanitarian aid and education the movie shows that many people can be kept from violence. In that sense the movie is really a humanitarian effort against terror to show the real,compassionate face of Islam, but it does not really give you an insight into the reasons why some people just go for violence. While there is a message that those extremists take Islam as an instrument to their interests,the movie does not really tell you whether Americans should be there;let alone the fact that they also cause civilian casualties. On one hand,innocent civilians are just cannon fodder in the hands of extremists (which you can see in the movie)on the other hand, they are just collateral damage for the US army (which the movie does not care to show) Other than that, the dialog and the acting could have been better. While there are a few memorable quotes by the Mevlevi dervish (Ghassan Massoud)the whole dialog should have been better given the fact that there is a Sufi context in the movie. Though Sahin Celik can be given credit for his portrayal of the guerrilla commander, most of the actors (who play extremists)put in hammy performances. In short, while Kelebek is a humanitarian movie it does not have the versatile quality a terror movie should naturally have. Let's hope Turkish cinema will make more movies on terrorism in the future because "Our helplessness, outrage and fear were not collateral damage."
