A Memorial Garden: Sour Apples (2016) by Rabia Elif Özcan

Every artist has a prized creation. For Yılmaz Erdoğan, that is his first film Vizontele (2001). In this authors opinion, Erdoğan has always been moving back to and remembering his first film, the themes of which he threads between all his works. With Sour Apples, he turns his vision back toward the East, his place of homage. Through the aging eyes of the Mayor, we see the change in culture and family. But this film speaks to wider political situation: the problem of Kurdish Identity. As the Mayor ages, so he forgets his name, his identity. Sour Apples is a wonderful film, with great acting, a truly superb cast.

To read the whole review, go to: https://filmhafizasi.com/bir-hatira-bahcesi-eksi-elmalar-2016/

According to this author, Sour Apples (2016) is a highly political film. Erdogan is trying to make the point that the eastern parts of Turkey (specifically the Kurdish areas) have been under-served, especially in the 1970s, eventually leading to Kurdish revolts. He highlights this by focusing on the ways in which the east is behind the times. The mayor, Aziz, is trying to put in place infrastructure, specifically into the mountain regions, because there is no way go travel up except by foot or horse. Erdogan also emphasis how many in the east, especially women, are illiterate. Only one of the mayors daughters can read and write. Erdogan pays special attention to the role of women; how they are treated as objects in the east and how the mayor has authority over who they can and cannot marry. All of this ties back into fact that the east has been forgotten by the Turkish government on the whole. The author likes this movie and would recommend it as long as you ignore the political message.

For the full review go to:
https://ortakoltuk.com/film-elestirileri/eksi-elmalar

The author of this review focuses on three parts of the film. The construction of the setting, the acting of the three sisters, and the shift in the audiences view of Aziz. First, the setting of this film fits very well into the period in which the story is set. Those who advised on the set making for historical accuracy nailed it. Second, the three actresses who played the three sisters filled the roles exquisitely fulfilling the aim of the director perfectly. Lastly, Erdogan wrote the script in such a way and played the character in such a way, that the viewer if faced with their feelings about the father Aziz. Is he a good man or and evil father? The film plays on the emotions of the viewer as to leave this unanswered. Overall a very good film. 3.5 stars out of 5.

For full review go to:
http://www.beyazperde.com/filmler/film-240738/elestiriler-beyazperde/

In this scene, Ozgur is teaching Muazzez to read from her romantic photo novel. Because of her father’s control over their lives Muazzez and her sisters have not had a formal education (reading, writing, etc.). Muazzez wanted so much to learn to read and write that, while they were away in the mountains, Muazzez persuaded Ozgur to teach her to read. Ozgur came from Antalya, having a formal education and a more progressive outlook than the people of the village of Hakkâri and especially the mayor. In the film, Erdogan points to the illiteracy that existed in the eastern parts of Turkey during the 1970s. Erdogan shows the east as falling behind the western part of Turkey, even though, Turkey made itself look as though it was a modern state. The east was totally overlooked when it came to education, power, and social programs. Through this scene, and many others, Erdogan points out the failings of modern Turkey.

In this scene, the three sisters (Turkan, Muazzez, & Safiye) are being scolded by their father (Aziz) for accepting the gift of shampoo from a stranger in the garden. Aziz is sitting on the couch while the daughters are kneeling in submission. Once Muazzez confesses that she is the one who accepted the gift, Aziz takes off his belt to punish Muazzez by whipping her hands. This scene speaks toward the way that Erdogan is trying to portray the culture of eastern Turkey as male dominated and not friendly to independent women. Aziz represents the old way of Turkish society and his struggles with his daughters represents the struggle of the old ways fitting in with the new.

Sour Apples follows the period and genre of Erdogan’s first film
Vizontele. They are both set in the 1970s and follow towns in Eastern Turkey as they move into the “modern era”. Both of the films have different levels of political and social commentary, looking at issues such as illiteracy, the role of women, east vs west, etc. As the west of Turkey is thriving with its newfound western ideals, eastern Turkey is left in the dust to catch up on its own. Both of these films comment on these troubles. The acting brings life to the characters, especially the three daughters. The actresses, Farah Zeynep Abdullah, Şükran Ovalı, and Songül Öden, bring complexity to three very different characters, while maintain the love between siblings. For the full review, go to:
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kelebek/magazin/bu-film-artik-seyirciye-emanet-40254026

“Yılmaz Erdoğan (Hakkari, 1967) is actor, writer and director. He co-founded BKM, one of Turkey’s first major production companies, with Necati Akpınar. In 2001, he broke Turkey’s box-office record with his first movie, Vizontele. To date, he has directed six films, all of which have been commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed. His period drama, The Butterfly’s Dream, which tells the story of two poets in the 1950’s, was Turkey’s official
submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. His filmography as director includes Vizontele (2001), Vizontele Tuuba (2003), Organize İşler / Magic Carpet Ride, Neşeli Hayat / Jolly Life (2009), Kelebeğin Rüyası / Butterfly’s Dream (2014), Ekşi Elmalar / Sour Apples (2016).”

Taken from:
http://www.bostonturkishfilmfestival.org/2018/films/eksielmalar-sourapples.html

“Muazzez has to remind her father, an ageing man with Alzheimer’s, who he is before he dies. The year is 1977. After two terms as mayor of the town, Aziz Özay has just failed to be re-elected for a third. He lives with his wife and three daughters in a spectacular house complete with orchards and a garden. The rest of the townsfolk either steal into the orchards to swipe fruit or write love letters to the girls. One night, one of the daughters, Muazzez, catches one of the culprits. The culprit is Özgür, a handsome guy who could have stepped out of the pages of a photo-novel. Özgür has a different sort of smell about him. It turns out to be the smell of his hair, of something they call “shampoo”. And so begins an adventure that grows into a web of stories taking in marriages for love, marriages under protest, military takeovers, never-ending civil war and migration, untold joys and disappointments.”

Taken from:
http://www.bostonturkishfilmfestival.org/2018/films/eksielmalar-sourapples.html