I have to confess that Mahsun Kirmizigul was not a name for me to follow or mention in any atmosphere until i watched Gunesi Gordum (means "I Saw The Sun"). There is a big kurdish issue in Turkey. It's not just in the southeast but in the entire country. This is the point where this film break through: How this problem effects all these people?
The story starts in a village in southeast, surrounded by the mountains which are also the permanent residences for the PKK terrorists. Davut and his brothers and their children and grandsons lives there. Davut has three sons. One, is a terrorist, lives on the mountains and fights against the Turkish army, believes that he is fighting for their people. The other one is a soldier in the army. And the youngest one is disabled because of a mine explosion. Even only the structure of this family gives us a spectacular aspect of the district. They have to leave the village and go somewhere else to live. It's not a choice they made, it is a must! The story goes on with their new lives. Some in Istanbul and some in Norway. Are they really their lives or did something or someone take it from them? Did they want it to be that way? In a scene Havar (played by Demet Evgar) says "A man of this land can be a korucu (means village guardian), a soldier or a terrorist. There is no 4th option!" or in another one Davut (acted by Altan Erkekli) who begins to live in Norway says "No matter if here is a heaven, i'd prefer my land".
Even the source of the kurdish issue is not the main subject in the film, it still has something to say about how this issue effects people of this country. And there is a solution proposal made by a captain of Turkish army: "What if state gives a hand to the people of this district?". Even some side stories harms the main one, and the film is lacking to answer why there is a such a problem and its involvement with PKK, Mahsun Kirmizigul, the writer and the director of the movie manages to tell his story maybe in the simplest way it could be, like it has never been before. Especially Altan Erkekli and Serif Sezer are shining in their roles. Suggested to the ones curious about the issue...
The story starts in a village in southeast, surrounded by the mountains which are also the permanent residences for the PKK terrorists. Davut and his brothers and their children and grandsons lives there. Davut has three sons. One, is a terrorist, lives on the mountains and fights against the Turkish army, believes that he is fighting for their people. The other one is a soldier in the army. And the youngest one is disabled because of a mine explosion. Even only the structure of this family gives us a spectacular aspect of the district. They have to leave the village and go somewhere else to live. It's not a choice they made, it is a must! The story goes on with their new lives. Some in Istanbul and some in Norway. Are they really their lives or did something or someone take it from them? Did they want it to be that way? In a scene Havar (played by Demet Evgar) says "A man of this land can be a korucu (means village guardian), a soldier or a terrorist. There is no 4th option!" or in another one Davut (acted by Altan Erkekli) who begins to live in Norway says "No matter if here is a heaven, i'd prefer my land".
Even the source of the kurdish issue is not the main subject in the film, it still has something to say about how this issue effects people of this country. And there is a solution proposal made by a captain of Turkish army: "What if state gives a hand to the people of this district?". Even some side stories harms the main one, and the film is lacking to answer why there is a such a problem and its involvement with PKK, Mahsun Kirmizigul, the writer and the director of the movie manages to tell his story maybe in the simplest way it could be, like it has never been before. Especially Altan Erkekli and Serif Sezer are shining in their roles. Suggested to the ones curious about the issue...