Erden Kiral – Mavi sürgün AKA The Blue Exile (1993)

adminJune 15, 2019

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Brief Synopsis
Based on an autobiographical novel, story of the four year exile (1922-26) from his Turkish homeland of early European ecologist Cevat Sakir (1890-1973).

Quote:
Based on the true story of Cevat Şakir, a Turkish writer who, just after Turkey’s defeat in World War I, fell foul of the authorities when he wrote about deserters from the army. At first sentenced to hang, he was later sent to a distant part of the country to serve a prison sentence and eventually allowed to live in a rented house.

Mavi Sürgün is a fictionalized account of one period of the life of a Turkish journalist who was condemned to exile for an article he wrote in 1925. He turned his punishment into a reward by creating a little paradise in what is today the holiday resort, Bodrum. In fact he is considered by some to be the first ecologist. The film concentrates on this latter aspect of his character and through flashbacks portrays the inner turmoil of a man who is trying to come to terms with his past. The slow pace is somewhat of a drawback, the flashbacks are often confusing and the protagonist is not always very convincing. But the photography of the country side is exceptional Kenan Ormanlar and the short appearance by a very theatrical Hanna Schygulla of Fassbinder fame adds a little spice to the drama.