journey to the sun 1999

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Journey to the Sun

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Release details.

• Duration: 105 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: Yesim Ustaoglu
• Screenwriter: Yesim Ustaoglu
• Mizgin Kapazan
• Lucia Marano
• Nazmi Oirix

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Journey to the sun.

1999 ‘Güneşe Yolculuk’ Directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu

Mehmet, a young Turkish man newly migrated from the village Tire, takes a job searching for water leaks below the surface of the streets of Istanbul. Due to a strange set of events, he is mistaken for a Kurd, imprisoned, and brutally beaten. Upon his release a week later, he becomes an outcast marked as a Kurd, losing his apartment, his job, and eventually his girl friend, Arzu. When a Kurdish friend, Berzan is killed in a street protest triggered by a hunger strike, Mehmet takes a trek to return the body to Berzan's home village near the Iraqi border, and learns why so many Kurds are refugees.

Nazmi Kırık Newroz Baz Mizgin Kapazan Ara Güler Lucia Marano

Director Director

Yeşim Ustaoğlu

Producers Producers

Behrooz Hashemian Pit Riethmüller Phil van der Linden

Writer Writer

Editor editor.

Nicolas Gaster

Cinematography Cinematography

Jacek Petrycki

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Production design production design.

Natali Yeres

Composer Composer

Vlatko Stefanovski

Sound Sound

Christian Götz Mathieu Cox Svetolik Zajc

The Film Company Medias Res Filmproduktion Istisnai Filmler ve Reklamlar (IFR)

Turkey Germany Netherlands

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

Dutch Kurdish Turkish

Alternative Titles

Aller vers le soleil, Resan mot solen, Viaggio verso il sole, Reise zur Sonne, 태양으로의 여행, 太阳之旅

Releases by Date

16 feb 1999, releases by country.

104 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by berfin ★★★ 1

anamm böyle uygun gördüğü için üç veriyorum bence dördü vardı döneme birebir tanık olan(burayı yazmamı kendi istedi) canım anamın beğenmediği şeyler 1) oyunculuklar mehhmiş 2) daha profesyonel çekimler yapılabilirmiş (bence çok saçma bi yorum) 3) ''beni bana değil beni diğerlerine anlatabilecek vuruculukta olması gerekiyor'' ayrıca film boyunca sürekli ciwan haco'ya eşlik etti, yanlış kürtçe çevirilerini düzeltti, ara güler'i tanıdı, sonra ara güler'i NASIL İLK ANDA TANIMADIM YAA diye söylendi, otobüse binen kadının kendisi olduğuna inandı(aynısı bu arada), sonra da HAYATA DÖNÜŞ OPERASYONU'NDA TUTUKLU DIŞI ÖLÜM OLMADI Kİ diyip araştırdı, zorduç nerde diye düşünüp bulamadı, çalıştığı gazeteleri dağıtan çocukların ciddi ciddi polisten öyle kaçtığını doğruladı dağların arasından tın tınlıyolarmış, MIRRA SEYAHAT İSMİ SÜPER NEDEN GERÇEKTE YOK URFA'DA dedi, urfa'ya giderken karacadağ'dan geçmiyomuşuz onun bilgisini almış bulundum bi de. yanlışmış. ama yine de o günleri hatırlattığı için filme teşekkür ediyormuş.

Review by ayseubur ★★★★

kürt meselesi üzerine sözünü cesaretle dile getirebilmiş bu kadar az film varken yeşim ustaoğlu’nun 90’lı yılların karanlığında faili meçhulleri, ölüm oruçlarını, göçleri bir dostluk hikayesiyle ve temsil ettiği değerlerin arkasında durarak aktarabildiği çok çok  büyük bir film. seçilen müzikler de tam anlamıyla filmi tamamlıyor

Review by mert ★★★★

girişte koma amed ile başlamasına yüreğimi bıraktım, yine ilk sahnede kasetlerin içerisinde yenigün müzik topluluğu'nun kasetini görmek duygulandırdı. açlık grevleriyle ile ilgili olan kısımda hayatından çok şey öğrendiğim birini görmek garip bir his.

"yaşamı sığdırmak isterim bir güne, yürümek hiç durmadan, ağustosta gülmek, yağmurda ıslanmak, karda üşümek, sığdırmak sığdırmak yaşamı bir güne."

çok güzeldi.

Review by Majorsum ★★★★★

Doğulu da olsan batılı da olsan kabul etmeyince etmiyor seni bu ülke. Hiç yoktan yere yurtsuz kalıyorsun. Müzikleriyle, görüntüleriyle, karakterleriyle çok şey hissettirdi. Ama en çok hüzün "Oraları bi görsen Mehmet." "Nereleri?" "O dağları."

Review by BollyFolly ★★★★½

Winner of the Best European Film Award at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival, Journey to the Sun is a measured, moving account of an unlikely friendship between a dark-skinned migrant worker and a member of a Kurdish minority that also manages to touch on several sensitive sociopolitical. Director Yesim Ustaoglu has a great sense of both place and placelessness, and she situates her characters accordingly whether in a teeming metropolis such as Istanbul or the war-torn landscapes near the borders. An alternately raw and tender slice of cinema.

Review by asena bulduk ★★★½

Mehmet bir sabah bunaltıcı düşlerden uyandığında, kendini TC’de dev bir teröriste dönüşmüş olarak buldu.

Review by Nur Sultan ★★★½

- Tire'li misin gerçekten? + niye inanmıyor kimse - fazla karasın ondan + esmer olmak suç mu?

Review by İpek Yardımcı ★★★½

Bunu Aftersun'la aynı gün izledim. Fethiye'de geçen filmi izleyenler 90'lar ve nostalji güzellemesi yapıyordu yorumlarda. Bu film tokat gibi yapıştırıyor gerçekleri. Alın size 90'lar, alın o görmek istemediğiniz gerçekler. Ama diyaloglar berbat ötesi. Film, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu'nun öyküsünden uyarlama. Diyalogların epey bir uyarlanmaya ihtiyacı varmış. Oyunculuklar da epey kötü. Bunlar bu kadar kötü olunca ben delleniyorum. Yine de bu kadar önem arz eden ve cesur 3-5 film izlemişimdir bu konuda. Hele ki bu filmin yapım yılını göz önünde bulundurursak filmin büyüklüğü daha fark edilir oluyor. Daha fazla bilinmeyi hak ediyor bu film.

Review by ozgur ★★★

bir keresinde gece otobüsle eve dönerken bir adam yanıma oturup zorla muhabbet etmişti eve kadar. herif acayip esmerdi ve tireliydi, kimse inanmıyor izmirli olduğuma diyip nüfus cüzdanını göstermişti. yeşim ustaoğlu'nun da aynı adamın babasıyla otobüs yolculuğu yapma ihtimalini düşünüyorum bir süredir.

Review by Gürkan ★★★★

Bu film ülke sinemasının kanonik yapıları arasında görünmez kılınıyor ancak birçoğundan çok daha büyük. Aynı yıllarda birileri taşrada erkeklerin varoluş sancılarını çekerken Yeşim Ustaoğlu, gösterimini yapan sinemaların önünde polislerin nöbet tuttuğu bu güçlü filmi çekmişti.

Review by Bun-gun ★★★★

mehmet kardeşime bak iki fıs sprey sıktı anında zayna döndü

Review by Ali ★★★★

hayatım biz tireliyiz yaa, yeminime kuran gitmedim hiç doğu’ya

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Journey to the Sun

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, yesim ustaoglu, nazmi qirix, mizgin kapazan, berceste akgun, technical specs.

Mehmet is from east Anatolia, Berzan from the west, but both have come to Istanbul to look for work and a new life. Mehmet is working his way up - he has a good job repairing water pipes, and has met a woman, Arzu, with whom he is becoming close. Berzan lives in a poor part of town and scrapes by selling cassettes. His dream is to make enough to return to his village sweetheart. But one day when Mehmet, whose skin makes him look like a Kurd is mistakenly arrested for possessing a gun, he loses his footing, realizing that he is forever haunted, as a red "X" is marked wherever he stays; he, henceforth opens his eyes to Turkey's harsh reality. Mehmet is then forced to become personally involved in the politics of his country. His loyalty to Berzan eventually forces him to disregard an uncompassionate bureaucracy and he embarks on a symbolic journey eastward across Turkey all the way to the Iraqui border.

Kazim Ekinci

Nigar aktar, reyhan yilmaz, erdinc dincer, ercument balekoglu, iskender bagcilar, ismail yildiz, erhan yildirim, murat baydemir, hasan korur, serhat kaplan, hulusi tutuncu, cabbar baris, sekernaz cakal, zulfiye dolu, ozcan alper, hilmi erdem, mesut akusta, erdal ceviz, hasan yildiz, sahin akman, sedat bider, ercan ayberk, seref turkmenoglu, ferzan yucel, berzan yucel, mahmut demir, izzet yildiz, adnan demir, menderes demir, rifat tirpanci, ramazan ozcan, murat tastan, mehmet cakir, harun tekin, altay ozbek, ahmet ozaslan, muharrem gulmez, lucia marano, vlatko stefanovski, gazment berisha, turan yapistiran, deniz aksit, kevin robins aksoy, muzaffer aksuzek, ilhami algor, kutlu ataman, bahadir atay, hakan aytekin, thomas balkenhol, besiktas belediye baskanligi, istanbul buyuksehir belediyesi, laura bombana, ersan capan, natasha colombant, metin cornik, muzaffer cukuryurt, dirk dejonghe, huseyin dindar, ferah dogan, ayse durmaz, jurben eisenmann, mehmet eminbas, licia eminenti, vahid erfan, koken ergun, valide han esnafi, alessandro favaron, das kleine fernsehspiel, chris goetz, hasan gokce, faruk gunaltay, bahir guran, burak guray, dilber haco, behrooz hashemian, frederick w helm, husnu hepgur, eminonu hizmet, dzengis ibrahim, rasim ibrahim, abdullah oguz icsoz, aysegul ildeniz, attila ilhan, ustungel inanc, kerem kabadayi, arslan kacar, oguz karabeli, agah karaburcak, nurettin keles, bakhtiar khudojnazarov, yalcin kilic, thomas knobelspies, ufuk koksal, arzu korkmaz, muharrem kucuk, ozkan kucuk, paola landi, incila manco, genel mudurlugu, gulsum muezzinoglu, marco muller, mahmut muzaffer, pan nakliyat, ilana navaro, cemal noyan, tadeus obuchowicz, serdar ongoren, hamit paksoy, mirelle paulus-levy, tatjana petrusa, jacek petrycki, tayfun pirselimoglu, mina ghoreshi plenker, lucienne posthorn, elisabetta prando, mustafa presova, sedat presova, frederic rat, pit reithmuller, charles richards, pit riethmuller, robert roth, cevren sarayoglu, janine schrijver, murat senyuz, yasemin sile, bruno tarriere, berrin tekdemir, cerrahpasa tip, sukriye topal, cengiz topkara, suleyman topkara, oliviero toscani, gerhard tripp, claudia tronnier, ahmet uygun, ann van belle, phil van der linden, dirk vandewalle, stephen vanopbroeke, bernd walper, christoph weber, dick willemsen, dilek yarcan, karaman yavuz, natali yeres, gokhan yilmaz, hakan yilmaz, izzet yilmaz, erguder yoldas, nezir yucel, svetolik mica zajc, jacek zaleski, miscellaneous notes.

Winner of the AGICOA Prize for Best European Film on a contemporary issue at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival.

Winner of three awards at the 1999 Istanbul International Film Festival, including Best Turkish Film, Best Director of a Turkish Film and the FIPRESCI prize.

Released in United States 1999

Released in United States 2000

Released in United States February 1999

Released in United States May 18, 2001

Released in United States on Video September 28, 2004

Released in United States September 1999

Released in United States Winter February 9, 2001

Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (in competition) February 10-21, 1999.

Shown at Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (in competition) October 20 - November 15, 1999.

Shown at Istanbul International Film Festival April 17 - May 2, 1999.

Shown at New Directors/New Films in New York City March 24 - April 9, 2000.

Sophomore feature for Yesim Ustaoglu, who debuted with "Traces" (Turkey/1994).

Released in United States 1999 (Shown at Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (in competition) October 20 - November 15, 1999.)

Released in United States 1999 (Shown at Istanbul International Film Festival April 17 - May 2, 1999.)

Released in United States 2000 (Shown at New Directors/New Films in New York City March 24 - April 9, 2000.)

Released in United States February 1999 (Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (in competition) February 10-21, 1999.)

Released in United States May 18, 2001 (Grande 4 Plex; Los Angeles)

Released in United States September 1999 (Shown at Telluride Film Festival September 3-6, 1999.)

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Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.

JOURNEY TO THE SUN

Güneşe yolculuk.

Two young men from different regions, Mehmet from the West and Berzan from the East, are bonded together in their struggle to survive as lower-class citizens. One day, Mehmet is mistakenly arrested for carrying a gun, triggering a violent spiral of events that will forever change their lives.

Balancing the personal with the political, Yeşim Ustaoğlu tells the heartbreaking story of a friendship that flourished in the slums of Istanbul. A precisely observed study of everyday systemic racism in Turkey, Journey to the Sun is a powerful affirmation of the empathetic potential of cinema.

Journey to the Sun

Nazmi Kirik (Berzan) Newroz Baz (Mehmet) Mizgin Kapazan (Arzu) Ara Güler (Süleyman Bey) Nigar Aktas Hilmi Erdem Lucia Marano (Sexy girl)

Yesim Ustaoglu

Mehmet, a young Turkish man newly migrated from the village Tire, takes a job searching for water leaks below the surface of the streets of Istanbul. Due to a strange set of events, he is mistaken for a Kurd, imprisoned, and brutally beaten.

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Produced by, journey to the sun (1999), directed by yeşim ustaoğlu.

• AllMovie Rating 6
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Journey to the Sun

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Yesim Ustaoglu

Nazmi Kirik

Mizgin Kapazan

Nigar Aktar

Iskender Bagcilar

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Journey to the Sun (1999)

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