''The Ringing Ball'' () is a 2009 Turkish comedy film written and directed by Mahir Egemen Ertürk, about a team of blind football players who want to attend the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , has been screened at film festivals in Ankara and Salonika.

Production

The film was shot on location in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Plot

The film follows a handful of blind people, including a fisherman, a call-center agent and a man who sells lottery tickets on the street, from the Bosporus Society for the Blind, training to compete in the soccer category at the Paralympics. Kerem (Burak Önal), a former soccer star who has become an alcoholic coaches the team and falls in love with the beautiful Semra (İpek Özkök), a young woman works for the society. Unfortunately, Kerem has some thugs on his tail due to his past debts and his weakness for wine puts his coaching activities in danger.

Release

General release

The film opened in 45 screens across Turkey on at number sixteen in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $12,819.

Festival screenings

21st Ankara International Film Festival The 21st Ankara International Film Festival was a film festival held in Ankara, Turkey that ran from March 11 to 21, 2010. This edition of the Ankara Film Festival, organized by The World Mass Media Research Foundation and accredited by FIPRESCI ...

* 50th Selanik International Film Festival

Reception

Box Office

The film has made a total gross of $67,352.

Reviews

Emine Yıldrım, writing in

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

, describes the film as, "a borderline emotion exploiter that performs quite pleasantly despite some of its excesses until that point at the very end in which the filmmakers transform their cute story into a slice of unnecessary arabesque." "The film", he continues, "has a lot of funny and sweet moments thanks to the enthusiasm of the actors who are playing the blind team members, and director Ertürk should be congratulated for portraying them with respect instead of pity", and, "I was smiling with amusement as I was watching this quasi-sports comedy until I was subjected to the bombardment of sentiment in the movie's final 10 minutes, thus I regret to say that I couldn't help ending up cowered with a sour expression on my face. They had taken away my feel-good moment, and I don't even know for what purpose." He concludes that the film, "has the potential to reach the hearts of enough audience members; it tries to illustrate a positive message - anyone can do anything. It's just that no one wants to watch an alcoholic overcome with self-pity if they're in the mood for regaining hope."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringing Ball 2009 films Turkish comedy films 2009 comedy films Films set in Turkey