A compelling and thought-provoking western-style drama set in Turkey, Bozkir Look at the Birds explores the concepts of honor, justice, and honesty without losing the audiences’ sympathy for its characters.
By Kylie Powers for Winter Film Awards
See the feature film “Bozkir Look at the Birds” on Saturday Feb 22, 2020 @ 3:45 PM at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival.
The film is set in the director/producer Mehmet Tanrisever’s hometown of Bozkir, Turkey. It mostly focuses on the story Abdullah, our male lead who is a well-known weapons trader in the rural small town. The film is an engaging parable about the life not only of a man who trades weapons but also the life of a lie, and how that lie can affect the people around him.
The film’s distinguishing features initially are its visuals, opening with rural views of Turkey and the shot of the sunrise set to wolves’ howls and drums, as we prepare for possibly an epic tale. However, the film at times is more intimate, focused on the characters and how they deal with the repercussions about the lies they tell. At first, we are introduced in the film to a duo act of the straight-forward leading man Abdullah, (played by Soydan Soya) and Ziya (played by Suleyman Kabaali), his jovial childhood best friend whose insecurities and dark tendencies make him a liability for Abdullah. Once a terrible crime is committed and Abdullah finds himself alone, the tone shifts from a buddy dramedy about two long-time friends and salesmen to a more somber, introspective film.
The film relies heavily on showing motifs of nature, like horses and birds, or of weapons like knives and pistols. Otherwise, much of what the characters are feeling and experiencing is explained through expository dialogue. Characters clearly state who they are or what they are feeling when around Abdullah, our main audience avatar who makes some very frustrating decisions. By the end of the film, we understand Abdullah’s character as he has been the whole time — an honorable man who frequently chooses to do the dishonorable thing that ends up bringing him honor.
The lie he tells to the town after a crime is committed involving Ziya breaks this cycle for him as a character. Finally, doing the dishonorable thing does not work out for him, and he must learn how to repent and deal with the repercussions of his decision, as dictated by his town, his culture, and even his spirituality/religion.
The film is clearly inspired by American-styled westerns, not only for its rural desert-like settings but by way of its characters and messages. Abdullah is our tall traditional, mostly honorable main character who refuses to let people size him up, as depicted in the scenes when he must fend off against the local prison gang. He has a love interest, Emine, who waits for him and who serves as a primary motivation for some of his mixed decision making. Abdullah’s sister and her child are the family members who wait for him on the homefront, showing that he has the ability to be a family man even if the town sees him as a scoundrel.
The callbacks to westerns in the images of gunslinging and horseback riding through a desert compliments the film’s moral messages as well. The producer/director, Mehmet Tanrisever, discussed how he wanted to take real-life events that happened in Bozkir in the past and bring them to the world stage. “I wanted Bozkir villagers, the cultural ethics, the moral values and show them to the world.”
Characters in the film often deny their wrongdoings, which amps up the dramatic irony since the audience knows it won’t work out. Tansrisever explained that this was done to show that “Bad people lose but eventually win if they confront and repent. There are many lies in this area. I wanted to show that people will always lose at the end of a lie.” However, much like how the film ends, Tanriseverer also looked more optimistically towards the end of the interview- “Humans can make mistakes. If a person confronts [the lie] and replies, he eventually wins.”
Bozkir Look at the Birds is a morally challenging but engaging, exciting, and heart-tugging look at the power of lies in culture and internally in one’s heart. Its western-inspired story and aesthetics make it a fun watch and leaves the viewer with something to think. It is a timeless and compelling story, with a few twists thrown in to keep any fans of westerns right on their toes.
Kylie Powers
Kylie Powers is a writer, blogger, fundraiser, and video editor with a passion for storytelling and international film. She studied Global Media and Communications at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she graduated with her B.A. in 2019. She is a passionate writer and musician who enjoys playing guitar, traveling, and writing short stories.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 20-29 2020. Check out a jam-packed lineup of 79 fantastic films in all genres from 27 countries, including shorts, features, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
