Agir Roman

We find ourselves in the rundown Istanbul blocks close to the small street Cholera. It is called so because of the feverish tempo that reigns there. The street bustles with whores and pimps, but also with musicians, dancing women and street vendors.
Passionate Salih, son of a barber, who lives on this street, falls head-over-heels in love with newly arrived Tina, a highclass call girl with glamorous looks and a private chauffeur. They begin a passionate love affair, which becomes the subject of evil forces. The loved law man Toto is brutally murdered by the bad and welldressed gangster who on Iy answers to the name The Boss. Salih inherits Toto's infamous knife and takes on the role of upholding justice. Together with his partners The Boss spreads terror in the district, murdering and torturing.
The vulnerability of the inhabitants and their harsh living conditions drive them into taking the law in their own hands - killing and cheating in order to survive. The relationship between Salih and Tina becomes unbearable.
Agir Roman is one of three Turkish films to be shown during this festival. Together they showcase the dynam ic that characterize Turkish film since the mid 1990's.
Before then the repertoire of the Turkish movie theaters was dom i nated by American movies - now, the domestic films appeal to more and more cinemagoers.
Agir Roman is a film that is full of life; one can feel the scent of newly washed linen, hear the sirens of the police cars, drum along to the rhythms of Turkish folk music and sense the opium smoke of the tavernas. A moving camera and rhythmic editing makes the fights between the men with knives into creative dancing.
Slow-motion is a reoccurring feature in the film which enhances the intensity in the explosive moments. In the scene where Tina is walking up the stairs to her room, she stops in the middle, takes a puff from her cigarette and blows the smoke out into the air. In stylish movements the smoke slowly wanders to the side, where Salih inhales it. A striking expression of sexual desire. In the closeups of Salih's worn-out face we see the decay of society and the crushed dreams of his family.
ELSA WESTERSTAD

Premiärstatus
Skandinavisk premiär: Medverkande
Okan Bayülgen,Müjde Ar,Mustafa Ugurlu,: Producent
Sabahattin Çetin: Manus
Mustafa Altioklar: Foto
Ertunc Senkay: Musik
Atilla Özdemiroglu: Talat språk
Turkish