Zenne Dancer (2012)

It is a performances centric movie

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Zenne Dancer" (Turkey 2012) A controversial film in it's homeland, this is a dramatization of the real-life "honor killing" of an Istanbul student by his family after they discovered he was gay. The tragedy centers around a trio of unlikely friends: Can (an openly gay Zenne Dancer (male belly dancer mixed with drag queen) who is in hiding to avoid Military Service to his country; Ahmet (aforementioned student, born to an eastern and very conservative family, studying in Istanbul and coming to terms with his Truth); and Daniel (a German photo-journalist in Istanbul without much knowledge about Turkish values and lifestyle). My biggest critique is that the film is a bit disjointed in it's storytelling and thus a challenge to follow....but it eventually does an excellent job of developing each of these three very different characters. Each has a different background and therefore a different outlook on life. Daniel's Western sensibilites eventually lead him to encourage Can and Ahmet to make some very dangerous choices...leaving him with the weight of guilt in the aftermath. Perhaps the most telling exchange in the film occurs between Daniel and Ahmet (after they have fallen in love) -- Daniel: Why can't you be honest and tell the truth to your parents? Honesty is the easiest. Ahmet: (crying) You don't understand. Honesty will kill me. Given our current climate in the US of an increasingly powerful polictical arm of an extreme form of Fundamentalist Christianity -- we should take heed and learn a lesson from our Brothers in the East.

Having watched Zenne Dancer, I'm surprised the movie made it to Singapore – even if it was only for a very limited run in a tiny cinema for a relatively obscure film festival. It's a brave, honest, bold movie that doesn't shy away from themes that are still regarded as taboo here: the notion of homosexuality, and having to live everyday in a society where that's seen as one of the cardinal sins – where dignity and life can be stripped from anyone who dares confess to being gay. The situation here in Singapore isn't quite as bad as it would be in a staunchly conservative Muslim country – and even in Turkey, the strictures and shame are less profoundly felt than they would be in, say, Iran. But the themes in Zenne Dancer – acceptance (of oneself and others), tolerance, love, shame and family – would resonate anywhere, particularly when presented as masterfully as they are here.Sadly, the story does not have a happy ending. I don't think this necessarily counts as a spoiler, because the film has become famous chiefly because of the woeful incident that both ends it and inspires it. (Moreover, I went into the cinema knowing how it would all end, pretty much, but found myself moved by the ending anyway – made all the more poignant for what goes before it.) Directors Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay were personally acquainted with a man named Ahmet Yildiz, whose life was tragically cut short on 15 July 2008 when he became the victim of a honour killing – the homicide of someone (typically a woman) who is believed by the perpetrators to have brought dishonour upon the family or community. Ahmet's true-life story was the first time the honour killing of a gay man received widespread publicity in Turkey.What Alper and Binay have done is present Ahmet's story through the fiction of film: some of the events within the movie are fictionalised, such as Can's close friendship with Ahmet (which is a key element in the plot). The directors have explained that they all knew the real-life Can, but couldn't be certain if the latter had ever known Ahmet. The story built up around the three men nevertheless feels true and organic, and is one of the joys of Zenne Dancer. The movie has a lot to say about very controversial themes, but it's also really a tale of the power and strength of friendship: of the family you choose rather than the family you're born with. The relationships are credible, rich and affecting: whether we're watching Can tease Ahmet (and vice versa), or going along for the ride as both men subject themselves to the humiliation of officially dodging the draft.In fact, the inner workings of the relationships and characters in this film are laid bare in ways that at once fulfil and confound stereotype. It becomes clear that there's more than meets the eye in Ahmet's fraught relationship with his family, which isn't merely about shame and hatred: it's a story of love twisted by religion and tradition, where duty comes before happiness not just for Ahmet, but also his modern yet dutiful sister. Daniel's troubled past as a photographer in war-torn Afghanistan provides depth to his story and pain, and even minor characters like Can's aunt Sukran (Jale Arikan) get moments to shine when they find love and support in unexpected places.Zenne Dancer is also a profound study in contrasts: Can quite literally dances through life, a rainbow burst of joy and love, adored by his mother Sevgi (Tilbe Saran) who will do anything to save her baby boy from the trauma visited by military service upon her deceased husband and haunted elder son Cihan (Tolga Tekin).With a great script and story comes a superlative cast: Kerem Can and Avci are the two focal points of the film, and both are astoundingly good. The former is fey and fabulous, but also manages to be heartbreaking and real in the part: Can flounces through life in a whirl of sequins and gauze, woes and responsibilities apparently sliding off his back with ease except they don't, not really, and Kerem Can makes this clear in moments when he injects a hint of steely resolve into his character that's all the more affecting for how breezy and easy he plays Can the rest of the time. His work is all the more impressive for the fact that he is himself straight – and there is simply no question that he was born to play this part. Avci is just as powerful, in no less effective a way, as a man who's slowly beginning to accept who he is and realising that he needs to be honest about it – however much it will break his parents' hearts. He plays Ahmet's tremulously sad, close relationship with his father particularly well, making it clear that his character could never really blame his parents for the way they think any more than he can hope for them to really accept him for who he is.Kudos are also due to Silver and Çalışkur, who inhabit rather unsympathetic roles with admirable gusto and, where necessary, restraint.All in all, Zenne Dancer is a towering achievement: it's a fantastic story, with great characters, told in an arresting, thought-provoking fashion – but never in a cheap, sensationalistic way. Instead, the tale rings sadly, horrifyingly true, and reminds us that there's a long way to go yet before societal mores and the sanctity of human rights can co-exist in the way they should. This is an important work, touching on issues of freedom, choice, identity and love. For a film that's ostensibly about being gay, Zenne Dancer possibly has even more things to say about what it is to be human.

Finally, and after waiting for so long I had the chance to see Zenne Dancer after I got the DVD from Istanbul.if there is one word to describe how I felt after watching the movie; it lift me breathless.allot of emotion runs through your mind while watching this movie, between the sweet feeling of the friendship and the innocent love story in development and the heartache watching the emotion that each of the characters went through as the movie continues.I want to applaud each person who was involved in this movie for this amazing creation from the actors who did their roles so naturally and let the story express their emotion so effortlessly; from the writers who wrote a simple yet magnificent script that can speak to anyone regardless their orientations or behavior values, a script that was written directly to the human heart in each one of us; from the cinematographer who let his camera fly between the face expressions to the wide angles expressing the atmosphere so perfectly; from the art director and the costume designer who expressed the emotions and the mood in each scenes through amazing colors, sets and beautiful places; from the great musician whom music was telling the story that at some point I can hear the words without actually hearing any. last but not least thank you for each of the directors for leading and working with such an incredible team and for bringing Ahmet's story to life in such beautiful portray and imagination.I did not know Ahmet before except for what I read about him after the accident but after the movie, I felt like I lost a best friend, someone I relate to, someone who used to be a soul, a human being who felt love, pain, happiness and fear before transforming into a name on the grave yard or a title in the newspaper.thank you so much for such an emotional yet great experience, it was totally worth my tissue box :')

Zenne, M.Caner Alper and Mehmat Binay's debut movie was crowned with five awards at the country's foremost film festival Golden Orange Festival in Antalia, Turkey: •SIYAD Best Film (Association of Turkish Filmmakers) •Best First Film •Best Cinematography •Best Support Female Actor •Best Support Male Actor Zenne is inspired by the true story of Ahmet Yildiz, known as a victim of the first Turkish gay honor murder. The fact that Yildiz was killed by his own father, who hasn't been brought to trial since then, is shocking enough to make this movie very interesting. According to the trailer, movie tells the story of "an unlikely trio". In the first part of the film you are being introduced to those three "friends": Can – a free-minded person who is trying to avoid military service (which is obligatory in Turkey) and dances in nightclub as Zenne (the word in colloquial Turkish means male belly dancer) Daniel – German photographer trying to run away from his own troubled past Ahmet – An university student in Istanbul, born and raised in very traditional family in South-Eastern Turkey As their friendship develops, viewer is slowly but surely drawn into turbulent story of homophobia in Turkey, which culminates with the recruiting procedures for homosexuals in Turkish Army. Acting is excellent. It is unbelievable (if not a scandal) that Erkan Avci (Ahmet) is awarded Best Support Male Actor although he is acting the main character role. Besides him, Kerem Can (Can), Tilbe Saran (Sevgi) and Unal Silver (Yilmaz) also did amazing job. There are a couple of dance scenes, which brings Can's inner world to viewer. Those scenes are well blended into movie, usually using parallel editing technique. It is all matched perfectly with Demir Demirkan's dance music. Not to forget Paolo Poti, an Italian composer, who wrote the dramatic score. Technical side of the movie is really superior. Colors and sound mixing are at such level, one wouldn't expect from the Turkish movie. At the end I would like to say that Zenne is a movie I would strongly recommend. Although it describes Turkish society, it also goes far beyond, questioning generic values such as family, pride, tradition… It will definitely leave strong impact on viewers all around the world.