''The Messenger'' ( tr, Ulak) is a 2007 Turkish drama film, written and directed by Çağan Irmak, which follows a man who travels from village to village to tell children stories about a messenger named İbrahim. The film, which was selected for film festivals in Istanbul, Adana and Antalya, went on general release across Turkey on and is one of the highest grossing Turkish films of 2008.

Plot

A mysterious traveller Zekeriya arrives at a village. He captivates much of the village's people by telling tales of a messenger on horseback named İbrahim. The village becomes divided on him, each one taking on various personalities from other stories.

Cast

Çetin Tekindor Çetin Tekindor (born 16 July 1945) is a Turkish actor. Biography Çetin Tekindor was born in 1945 in Sivas. After studying theatre at the Ankara State Conservatory, he made his professional acting debut in a play ''IV. Murat'' in 1970. Beside ac ...

(Zekeriya) *

Hümeyra Akbay Fatma Hümeyra Akbay (; born 15 October 1947) is a Turkish actress, singer, composer, and lyricist. In the 1970s she was a noted singer and actress. Her popularity with the new generation rose in the 2000s with the hit sitcom ''Avrupa Yakası'', ...

(Meryem) *

Yetkin Dikinciler Yetkin Dikinciler (born 15 August 1969) is a Turkish actor. Biography Yetkin Dikinciler graduated in Theatre from the State Conservatory of Mimar Sinan University. He was awarded "Best Actor" for his role as Nazım Hikmet in ''Mavi Gözlü Dev'' ...

(Tahsin Kıroğlu) *

Şerif Sezer Şerif Sezer (born 1946) is a Turkish actress. She is also known for her roles in Turkish cult films like Everything About Mustafa and My Father and My Son. She was born in 1946 in Mudanya and she has Rumelian, Georgian Georgian may refer to: ...

(Esma) * Kaya Akkaya (Ömer - Yunus) * Melis Birkan (Emine - Ümmü) * Feride Çetin (Havva) *

Şener Kökkaya Şener is a Turkish name and may refer to: Given name * Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer * Şener Şen, Turkish actor *Şener Korkusuz (born 1979), Turkish American entrepreneur, American 7s Football League (A7FL) CEO and co-founder Surname ...

(Kahveci Dursun) *

Mahir İpek Mahir (also spelled Maher or "Mihir-A", ar, ماهر) is an Arabic given name meaning "skilled" or "expert", may refer to the following: Given name Maher * Maher Arar, Canadian software engineer * Maher al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Basha ...

(İkram) *

Zuhal Gencer Erkaya Zuhal is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Zuhal Demir (born 1980), Belgian lawyer and politician * Zuhal Olcay (born 1957), Turkish actress * Zuhal Sultan Zuhal Sultan ( ar, زحل سلطان; born 1991 in Baghdad, Iraq) is ...

(Cemile) *

Mahmut Gökgöz Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

(Selman)

Release

Festival screenings

27th Istanbul International Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, İstanbul Film Festivali) is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Tu ...

(April 5–20, 2008) *

15th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival Adana Golden Boll Film Festival ( tr, Adana Altın Koza Film Festivali), known between 2016 and 2018 as International Adana Film Festival (), is a film festival in Adana, Turkey, that was held five times between 1969 and 1974 and every year since 2 ...

(June 2–8, 2008) *

45th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival The 45th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival ( tr, 45. Antalya Altın Portakal Film Festivali) was held from October 10 to 19 2008 in Antalya, Turkey. Awards were presented in the 45th Antalya Golden Orange Festival in 20 categories of three compe ...

(October 10–19, 2008)

Reception

Reviews

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 ...

'' reviewer Fatih Selvi says this, ''is the kind of film which, as you watch it, you'll start looking inside. It is as though, from the very beginning of the film to the end, you are wandering around in a fairy tale. But not just as an observer and a listener, rather, as though you are interacting with everything. It is a film that makes viewers ask themselves "is this real, or just a story?" over and over again, starting off somewhat like one of the stories your grandmothers and grandfathers might have told you when you were young. But as the film goes on, following the courier's specific tale, everything changes color suddenly.'' ''Perhaps Irmak is trying to tell a story from centuries of years ago with this film. Or perhaps this is a story from these days. But whatever the time frame, the message contained in the story is applicable to yesterday, today and even tomorrow. Maybe the film is an attempt to reach tomorrow using the language of yesterday. In any case, the actors are different but the roles are the same. The director underscores the necessity of people like İbrahim in today's world, with all its vulgarities.'' ''While cinematographer Mirsad Herovic captures scenes as beautifully as he did in "

Babam and Oğlum ''My Father and My Son'' ( tr, Babam ve Oğlum) is a 2005 Turkish drama film written and directed by Çağan Irmak about a family torn apart by the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The film which went on nationwide release on became one of the highest ...

," Evanthia Reboutsika's musical score adds incredible sounds and action to the visuals. Hümeyra, Şerif Sezer and Yetkin Dikinciler, as well as all the younger stars of this film, deliver great performances while Çetin Tekindor in the role of Zekeriya is quite unforgettable.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messenger, The 2008 films Films set in Turkey 2000s Turkish-language films 2008 drama films 2000s fantasy drama films Turkish fantasy drama films Films directed by Çağan Irmak