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CONTEMPORARY TURKISH CINEMA Yazi Tura / Toss Up 2004, 102 minutes Written and directed by Ugur
Yücel Contact Information |
Yazi Tura (Toss Up) melds the stories of two tragedies
through the experiences of two young men, “Ridvan the Devil,”
a soccer player from Göreme, and “Cevher the Ghost,”
a young man who is living with his father in Istanbul. After serving together
in the army in Eastern Anatolia in 1999, both men return to their civilian
lives. Ridvan has lost his right leg, while Cevher has lost the ability
to hear in his right ear after the explosion of a mine. In his first feature
film, Yücel has created a story that will haunt audiences for days
after leaving the theater. Yücel’s deliberate attempt to disturb
the audience and his avoidance of conventional storytelling techniques
result in a fresh narrative that signals the emergence of a new auteur
in Turkish cinema. “...Nature also catches up with the protagonists of Ugur Yucel’s highly acclaimed Toss-Up (Yazi Tura, 2004), which could be considered Distant’s stylistic opposite. Shot on DV in a dislocating vérité style that borders on abstraction, the film portrays the lives of two soldiers who return from the army with sharp psychic and physical wounds. Both of their tales turn on overpowering natural forces: One finds the inability to keep his urges in check leads to ruin among the snowy wastes of his hometown, while the other experiences the massive 1999 Marmara Earthquake, forcing a redefinition of his suppressed fears and a reconnection with his family. Although, like Ceylan, Yucel also tackles emotional alienation, he gives in spectacularly: Toss-Up builds to near-operatic crescendos that might have placed the film firmly within the tradition of Turkish tearjerkers of yore, were it not so expertly directed and acted...” Excerpt from “How Does It Feel to Feel?: Recent Turkish Cinema”
by Bilge Ebiri, cinema scope 23 Festivals and Awards 2005 International Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey): Best Director, Best
Actor (Olgun Simsek),
People’s Choice Award From Atilla Dorsay The First Directing Effort of a Professional Actor Does the film derive its name from the fact that life sometimes depends on something as insignificant as a flipped coin? Or do the two protagonists of the film form a story that is bonded together like the two sides of a coin? The protagonist of the first story-line, Seytan Ridvan, has lost his leg and is like a solitary figure casting his shadow on the unequalled landscape of Göreme. Having lost all hope for happiness and the future along with his severed limb, he is subjected to continual nightmares of the past. Neither his lover nor his friends can understand the furor or storms brewing within him. Only later do we discover what has truly destroyed his soul. As for Cevher, against the warnings of his father, he has gotten involved in dirty dealings. Deaf in one ear, prone to violence, and living like a ghost in his father's apartment, the sudden Marmara Earthquake shakes him. The subsequent arrival of his father's Greek ex-wife and her grown son only deepen the shock. Although Toss Up starts out with a constantly moving camera and grainy digital images, which lend it an amateur or avant-garde feeling, these minor obstacles are quickly overcome and the story rivets the viewer's attention. The two stories are narrated in an interesting, unique and tender fashion that reflects Ugur Yücel's distinctive personality and deliberation in making this film, as well as his well-known ruminations on cinema. Both stories are engaging. The first demonstrates that terror is so much more than what we read in the newspapers, while the second reflects the violent nature of the metropolis and subtly and symbolically tackles the problems of minorities who have for various reasons been forced to flee both Istanbul and Turkey. With excellent performances from Olgun Simsek and the cast, and an especially
charismatic performance by Kenan Imirzalioglu that signals his rise as
a leading male lead, the film makes one thing certain: with this film
Turkish cinema has gained a new and talented new director. |
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