Turkish movies: we love them and we hate them, here's how to find them

UPDATE #2: I invite anyone who is interested in the Turkish language to visit my new blog which will feature my translations of Turkish literature into English. I hope to post a new translation about once a week.

http://turkishliteratureintranslation.blogspot.com/


UPDATE: I have left this blog in the dust, but I noticed recently that this post still gets quite a few page views. This post is incredibly out of date. I would say that the best (legal) repository of Turkish films is what is available on iTunes. They have a large number of Yılmaz Güney films, for example. Netflix really only has the recent films which have gained notoriety via international film festival awards, etc. Then of course there are all the illegal sources, which I will leave up to you to figure out. There have been many great Turkish films released since this original post was published, and since then I have come across many more worthy older films as well. Availability has increased as well. I recommend 'liking' the Facebook page 'Turkish Film Channel' to keep up with Turkish films that have become available internationally.

All the experts recommend watching movies in one's target language. I can see why. Movies tend to provide natural, realistic dialog with visual context that provides the closest experience to immersion you can get while sitting alone in your apartment thousands of miles away from the country in which your target language is spoken.

However, those who are learning less commonly taught languages may not have ever been exposed to how the language really sounds-- that is, how it is spoken by people who aren't professional voice actors in the employ of Dr. Pimsleur and his ilk. Because of this, watching movies for a beginner can be a rude awakening. At least it was for me.

That being said, the discomfort of feeling like a failure is outweighed by the virtue of feeling productive while doing something as relaxed as watching a movie. And we know its good for us deep down inside, even if it makes us feel like burning our "Teach Yourself X" books and accompanying audio materials.

So we've decided it's a good thing to put ourselves through, now how do we go about finding these movies in Turkish? Well, I have bad news for you. You aren't going to find them at Blockbuster. Netflix has quite a few, but they are difficult to find as they do not have a specific category for Turkish movies (and many of them are made in Germany anyhow). The other option is to order DVDs from a place like tulumba.com although I warn you they only play on region-free DVD players.

Unfortunately, there just aren't that many great Turkish movies available. Well, okay, I guess that depends on your taste in movies, but most modern Turkish movies are shoddy imitations of already heinously bad American action movies. Older, classic Turkish movies just aren't available here in the United States. An interesting summary of the ups and downs of Turkish cinema can be read here.

So on to what is actually useful. Here is a list of some worthy Turkish movies with the English titles and where, if anywhere, they can be found:

Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of Istanbul/ Istanbul Hatırası: Köprüyü GeçmekThis is a documentary about the music scene in Istanbul made by a German director who inserts himself entirely too much in his own work. That being said there is quite a bit of Turkish being spoken throughout and if you like Turkish music you will really enjoy it.
-Available on Netflix
Head-on/ Duvara Karşı (note: English title is not a translation of the Turkish title)
This is a another German-made movie, takes place partly in Germany and partly in Turkey, and the characters speak German some of the time and Turkish some of the time. It is an extremely intense, sometimes violent movie and has graphic sex scenes.
-Available on Netflix and some video rental stores

Journey to the Sun/ Güneşe Yolculuk
Great movie that addresses political issues in Turkey. Turkish made, Turkish spoken throughout.
-Available on Netflix

Distant/ Uzak
This movie is very strange, slow, and doesn't have much dialog but what there is is entirely in Turkish.
-Available on Netflix

The Deathless Devil/ Tarkan vs the Vikings (Turkish title unknown)
The fact that Netflix bills this as hailing from the golden age of Turkish pop cinema really conveys the dearth of high quality Turkish movies out there. This is probably the worst movie I've ever seen, and I have a high tolerance for quirky, kitschy science fiction. I actually only watched the Tarkan vs. the Vikings but I really think it's probably the worst movie ever made.
-Available on Netflix, I have no idea why

Climates/ Iklimler
I haven't seen this movie as it hasn't been released on DVD yet but when it does it will be available on Netflix. It's made by the same director who made Distant.

My Father and my Son/ Babam ve Oğlum
I've heard rave reviews about this movie but haven't been able to get access to it.

This meager list is all that I can offer, if anyone has any suggestions please leave a comment.