Friday, December 10, 2004
-----------------------
Ağzin Sucuk KokuyorThe Turkish Film Industry is not a topic that usually awakens intellectual curiosity, but in this case I found it rather amusing. The new Turkish film GORA which is basically a Turkish version of Mel Brooks' Spaceballs used to be owned by the Uzans and thus became government property once they were convicted of embezzlement. It's been reported (rumored by normal journalistic standards) that the Uzans did not hand over 3/4 of the entire shoot and plan to release their own sequel. But the interesting part of this story is that GORA has in consequence been a government-funded and approved film. By having a cabinet minister attend the premiere, the Islamist AKP party has endorsed a film that comes complete with guttural cursing, a gay robot, drug references, and footage of bamboos [Ed. baboons-- I'll defend myself by saying I probably had just finished watching Hero or Flying Daggers or something, and that the phrase was meant as a two-word review of one or the other] fornicating. Another colorful page added to their intriguing resume, no doubt.
the film: Not likely to be shown many places abroad since there are lukewarm Matrix and Fifth Element parodies and many of the good jokes rely on cultural cues....In a caricatured commentary on the decade, possibly titled "Coups and Chicks", there is a flashback to 70s Turkey: a porno director looks out the blinds and asks if anyone hears the tanks.
