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CONTEMPORARY TURKISH CINEMA İnat Hikayeleri / Tales of Intransigence 2003, 90 minutes, digital, color; Sunday, October 10, 8:00 PM Written and directed by Reis
Çelik
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Influenced by the improvisational storytellers and folksingers in the
region where he was born, Reis Çelik began a project with the question
"Can such a thing be done with film?" The main premise was that
there would be no written script - everything would be improvised from
one key word. After a year of technical preparation, a two-man crew made
up of Çelik and actor Tuncel Kurtiz set off to go to the Çıldır town of
Ardahan, 2,000 kilometers away. Their script consisted of one word: "intransigence".
The film would have only one actor, while the director would undertake
filming, lighting, sound, and all other tasks on his own. After overcoming
the difficulty of finding a place to stay in a town with no hotels, the
two gathered all the storytellers and folksingers in the region. With
"intransigence" as their starting point, the singers and storytellers
began to create their unique tales. The people of the region all pitched
in to help and the stories were filmed on the frozen Çıldır Lake, where
the crew lived in houses made of snow and endured blizzards and temperatures
of -37º C. Festivals and Awards 2004 International Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey) From Atilla Dorsay A Unique Film That Comes From the Heart of the People I was watching Reis Çelik's latest movie for the second time after Antalya [Film Festival] when I realized that this unique film has a peculiar charm. And although it's hard to recommend this movie to the masses, in the end, anyone who takes cinema even a little seriously should watch it. It is a kind of ethnic documentary, a kind of cultural research, an exciting journey which aims at revealing the gem hidden within a people. Whatever we say, the only sure thing is that this is not a classic movie. It is why the director placed the explanation, "A Reis Çelik Tale", at its beginning. The result can be described, in a word, as mesmerizing. The richness that comes from Anatolia's cultural build-up and an oral tradition that remains alive among its people is presented through the medium of film. The film is a dialogue that develops between a unique nature and an unappreciated rural area - a semi-artistic and semi-sociological work that Çelik dedicated to his own roots. İnat Hikayeleri (Tales of Intransigence), with its three stories based on the theme of 'stubbornness' and its observations on their surroundings, is a great reflection of those who are called "the people", but are remembered only from one election to the next. The most amazing aspect of the movie is the extraordinary acting of 67-year-old Tuncel Kurtiz, who is in complete harmony with the real villagers around him. This movie could be and should be seen at the same time as a moment of silence for the talent of Kurtiz. As I said at the beginning, anyone who is interested in public/folkloric culture and takes cinema seriously must see this film. 2004 (Excerpt)
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