Vavien (2009)
Celal, lives an unhappy family life with his wife Sevilay and his child in a small town. Celal and his brother Cemal, running an electrician shop which doesn't go well. They are in debt. The only fun they have is going to the night clubs in Samsun. Celal's love for Sibel Ceylan who works in the night club, will cause him trouble. Celal's wife, Sevilay, saves her money, sent by her father who lives in Germany. She is unaware of the fact that Celal knows her secret.
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Truly Dreadful Film
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.
The bitter facing of the good and the bad.The story is told in a different way. Normally the story line starts with introduction followed by development and then the conclusion. but in this movie this is a little bit different and this makes the movie unique. In this movie the order is like this: introduction, conclusion, development. A short introduction, a ferocious conclusion and a long development. It does not bore or let the viewer down. On the contrary it makes you open your eyes widely and watch it without blinking. The actress Binnur Kaya who appears as the electrician Celal's wife Sevilay performs wonderful scenes. Also Engin Gunaydin shows us how it is to be a bad person without regretting. A breathtaking black humor. And the family with an absolutely diabolical father, with an angel mother and their teenager son who got stuck in between.
I was one of the best films I've watched in a long time. A story of a family living in a small town struggling against the daily life like in classical melodrama. But this one takes the issue in a satiric way and takes a big step into black humor, even into film noir. While doing it never leaves the control of the movie or lose the center. A movie in harmony with all elements; from plot to actors, from cinematography to directing. It was a very pleasant experience for me, I really enjoyed it. A very satisfying movie coming from contemporary Turkish cinema which needs more films like this. In fact every cinema needs films like this.
The movie was praised greatly by the Turkish critics at first.. Apparently that was a trick to "attract audience". Movie-goers who watched this movie in movie theaters must have soon noticed that this movie was overrated and informed their friends accordingly..This is why the box-office of this "cheaty trick" remained so low.Engin Günaydin is good at one thing though: LOOKING & BEING A LOSER probably because he is one.But being a loser and depicting a loser's life in cinema are not enough to make a "movie", let alone a good one.Here are the FACTS about this movie:1- SOUND is awful. Sometimes I failed to understand what they are saying at all (mind you , I'm a native Turkish speaker and I had a DVD in my hand to re-play whenever I feel like it)2- I am disgusted to see a teenager jerking-off on the screen3- The script is full of incoherences., starting with the name of the movie. There are many "what if"s 4- The man tries to kill his wife and goes unpunished with it? Thanks for the moral lesson Engin Günaydin... We didn't expect anything better from you anyway 5- The woman (who fell off the cliff and presumed 'dead' reappears at the door days and days later. But her face & body is still covering bruises and her clothes are ragged. So are we, the audience, supposed to be so dumb as to buy such a cheap trick when cinema techniques are so sophisticated today?6- Does anybody understand why (at the end of the movie) the man came to be at peace with his wife (which he had wanted to kill) and his son (which he despised all along the movie) Apparently the Taylan brothers, in an effort to make up a "happy ending" just crashed down all the rules of script writing and film making.I personally pity on all those who would like to see this movie on his/her own dime and tries to make sense of it.
Taylan Brothers' career, beginning with commercials and TV series, had already found its stylistic maturity even in their second film Küçük Kıyamet. However, this time, we encounter some other elements, a well-written screenplay, superb acting and a perfect provincial setting are woven together masterfully.Vavien also remarks the beginning of a new age for Turkish Cinema. Its revival in mid 90s has proved itself in an artistic level and has been internationally acclaimed in the naughties. Vavien's virtue is combining this maturity with the expectations of the audience.On the other hand, there are some comments about the Coenesque style of the movie. I think those elements mentioned are not enough to talk for an imitation or a pastiche. The idea of getting rid of a wife or a money bag does not solely make a movie Coenesque.