Interesting film. Adopted by a novel, film seems a political thriller but no liaison of politics. An intelligence agent seeks for his neighbor (also his girl friend). Friend of his girl friend thinks, she might has been killed by agent due to she wants to leave him. But agent thinks, she might have been killed by an illegal organization that she's member of it. Tardu Florin as Neco, Ilyas Salman as Cuma are very well played. As you watch the film, you will spend good time. You even feel that you were reading political, suspense thriller. I think best of film is the final scene as good as a Roman Polanski's film. People who enjoys suspense thriller in Polansi style, would enjoy this film exactly. Final is really stunning and creative...
3 Reviews
For those who have read the book...
elsinefilo8 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
"Fog And Night" (probably a name taken from the Nazi instrument of terror that refers to kidnapping and forced disappearance of many political activists during WW2)tells the story of Sedat(Uğur Polat) who works for the national secret service. Sedat has recently lost his chief and his closest friend, Yıldırım (Mehmet Güleryüz)in an armed raid. Though Sedat believes the service owed Yıldırım enough loyalty to find the real killers of his chief,in fact, Sedat knows he was purged from the service because he was an effective opposition within the organization.His friend's death creates a huge void in Sedat's life.At a time when life is completely vacuous for him, he meets a student of art, Mine (Selma Ergeç)with whom he falls in love madly, like a high school teenager. When is Mine gone missing after one of the police raids on a terrorist house, life becomes sort of unbearable for Sedat.
In Turkish cinema, adaptations from the local best-sellers are not so common.Besides there are not many authors who take an active interest in telling cloak-and-dagger business of detection stories.Those who have read Ahmet Ümit's novel will know that most of the power of the novel comes from the conscience struggle. Sedat constantly listens to the voice of conscience and he daydreams how he could have done more for his friend Yıldırım,how he should have done more for his lover Mine. Though his conscience tells him how self-effacing his wife is, how great a mother she is, how he was rejected by his lover at the end, he still can't get her out of his mind,which leads to a series of monologues throughout the novel. Through Sedat's monologues we learn that his love for Mine is more than what seems to be a like high-school crush at first glance, we realize what he really thinks of his assistant Mustafa 'from a generation that got his place on the organization by dint of a newspaper advert', what he doesn't like about his uncle Ismet (Kemal Bekir)who is the chief-of staff there.Turgut Yasalar apparently tried to turn his monologues into meaningful cinematic dialogs, but the conversations in the movie sound so insipid, platitudinous and mannered. In the book, Sedat describes his wife as a 'kinder person, self-sacrificing,loyal and maybe even more beautiful than Mine'. In the movie Melike (Tülay Günal)is far from being more beautiful than Mine,let alone the fact that you can't just feel her tenderheartedness and compassion on the silver screen.Ayten Uncuoglu as Mine's landlady Madam Eleni is just terrible in her Istanbul Greek accent. No Istanbul Greek speaks in such affected accent. The only acting that catches attention in the movie is İlyas Salman's portrayal of the prisoner Cuma. Ilyas Salman got the best supporting actor in Ankara Film Festival with this role in 2007. Yet again, like in the book, Turgut Yasalar makes us listen to the whole story of Cuma's life. In the book, almost all interrogations are spent on listening to the minute details of people's lives which I found awkward but you can tolerate that in a book. In the movie it becomes boring after a while.
In a nutshell, Fog and Night can be already not the perfect detective novel but if you liked the book even a bit, you won't find the same engrossing quality in the movie. The acting will seem like a cheap suit, bought off-the-peg and you will witness no character arc.Instead of reading Sedat's thought-provoking monologues you will listen to vapid dialogs and for a movie that is adapted from a detective novel you won't find enough suspense.
In Turkish cinema, adaptations from the local best-sellers are not so common.Besides there are not many authors who take an active interest in telling cloak-and-dagger business of detection stories.Those who have read Ahmet Ümit's novel will know that most of the power of the novel comes from the conscience struggle. Sedat constantly listens to the voice of conscience and he daydreams how he could have done more for his friend Yıldırım,how he should have done more for his lover Mine. Though his conscience tells him how self-effacing his wife is, how great a mother she is, how he was rejected by his lover at the end, he still can't get her out of his mind,which leads to a series of monologues throughout the novel. Through Sedat's monologues we learn that his love for Mine is more than what seems to be a like high-school crush at first glance, we realize what he really thinks of his assistant Mustafa 'from a generation that got his place on the organization by dint of a newspaper advert', what he doesn't like about his uncle Ismet (Kemal Bekir)who is the chief-of staff there.Turgut Yasalar apparently tried to turn his monologues into meaningful cinematic dialogs, but the conversations in the movie sound so insipid, platitudinous and mannered. In the book, Sedat describes his wife as a 'kinder person, self-sacrificing,loyal and maybe even more beautiful than Mine'. In the movie Melike (Tülay Günal)is far from being more beautiful than Mine,let alone the fact that you can't just feel her tenderheartedness and compassion on the silver screen.Ayten Uncuoglu as Mine's landlady Madam Eleni is just terrible in her Istanbul Greek accent. No Istanbul Greek speaks in such affected accent. The only acting that catches attention in the movie is İlyas Salman's portrayal of the prisoner Cuma. Ilyas Salman got the best supporting actor in Ankara Film Festival with this role in 2007. Yet again, like in the book, Turgut Yasalar makes us listen to the whole story of Cuma's life. In the book, almost all interrogations are spent on listening to the minute details of people's lives which I found awkward but you can tolerate that in a book. In the movie it becomes boring after a while.
In a nutshell, Fog and Night can be already not the perfect detective novel but if you liked the book even a bit, you won't find the same engrossing quality in the movie. The acting will seem like a cheap suit, bought off-the-peg and you will witness no character arc.Instead of reading Sedat's thought-provoking monologues you will listen to vapid dialogs and for a movie that is adapted from a detective novel you won't find enough suspense.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
