|
|
|
|
[REVIEWS
> JOURNEY TO THE SUN]
|
| 05/18/2001 |
 |
|
The
casual pace of the film can be wearisome at some points. But
each time we let our mind slip away, we are quickly pulled back
by the intensity of the subject matter |
|
Reviewed by Sue Limsukonth
|
| |
| "Journey to the Sun" traces a
few turbulent weeks in the life of Mehmet (Newroz Baz),
a young man recently migrated to Istanbul to make a living
as a worker detecting underground pipe leakage for the
water department. Although he is a member of the lower
class, Mehmet is able to find joy in his job and in his
relationship with Arzu (Mizgin Kapazan), a young woman
working in a laundry. He also finds some contentment living
in a cramped apartment—dingy atmosphere brightened
by his congenial roommates—and in his newfound friendship
with Berzan (Nazmi Quirix), a Kurd who sells cassette
tapes on the streets while also active in an underground
movement. But his simple pleasures are wrenched away suddenly
when government officials mistake Mehmet, whose dark-skinned
complexion resembles a Kurd, as a rebel. After being locked
up and beaten for days, he is finally released to find
his roommate who, afraid of being branded as rebels through
their association with Mehmet, bar his return into the
apartment. Further, his boss fires him from the job that
he has the talent for. While his friend Berzan gets him
odd jobs and provides him with shelter, Mehmet seeks refuge
in his deepening relationship with Arzu, who fights to
keep their liaisons a secret from her parents. Mehmet's
life takes another drastic turn as Berzan gets killed
during a protest. With loyalty for his best friend, Mehmet
decides to take Berzan's body on a cross-country drive
in order to put him to rest in the beloved village of
his origin. |
| |
With funding from the Netherlands, Germany and her
native Turkey, director Yesim Ustaoglu gives us a sharp
view of present-day Turkey where ongoing protest for human
rights by the Kurdish population and their subsequent
arrests are prevalent. Against the backdrop of Kurdish
liberation attempts—a hunger strike, the struggle
to obtain scarce employment and the quest for equality
among the Turks—Ustaoglu presents the friendship
of two men from the opposite ends of the region. The casual
pace of the film can be wearisome at some points. But
each time we let our mind slip away, we are quickly pulled
back by the intensity of the subject matter. The grim
atmosphere during the first half of the film when we are
introduced to these Istanbul immigrants is in stark contrast
to the second half, when Mehmet journeys across the Turkish
landscape with the coffin containing the body of Berzan.
Ustaoglu invokes a sense of beauty and liberation in the
transport of Berzan's body—the journey to the sun—although
the landscape is desolate and bleak. Unfortunately, as
distant as it may seem, the characters in "Journey
to the Sun" and the hardships they endure are not
entirely unique. There are countless countries in the
middle of ethnic civil war that does not look like there
is a solution to the problems. With every story like Berzan,
there are still numerous men and women desperately struggling
in hope that an accord might be achieved within their
lifetime only to be disillusioned by the dream that is
too unattainable..jpg) |
|
|
|
|
Now
in theatrical release
|
|
|
| |
|
|
