Not many films in which music and certainly classical music forms the core of the story in one way or another are out there. On Netflix, the Turkish drama 'Babamin Kemani' premiered earlier this year and is still available to watch. A strong recommendation!
It is not the intention to fully explain the entire story here, because yes, what good is it if you already know everything before you've seen the film? What is it about? An eight-year-old girl, Özlem (Gülizar Nisa Uray), her father (Ali Riza played by Selim Erdogan) is an impoverished street musician and a widower. Together with some dear friends—poor but genuinely good musicians—he earns his daily bread by playing music in Istanbul. The men do this without a permit and are chased away by police every so often. Dancing and playing a little violin, the small half-orphan is the star and persuades the public to give generously. What she doesn't know is that her father is seriously ill and according to doctors has only little time left…
After his death, the question arises of who will take care of the girl. The musician friends she grew up with are seen as incapable bachelors and she has no chance with them, however well-intentioned and touching their offer and plea to let the child grow up with them are. Her uncle Mehmet (Engin Altan Düzyatan), however, her father's brother, is indeed a candidate. Unlike Özlem's father, he is not a street musician but an internationally celebrated violinist. His Italian wife was a concert pianist (cast by Belçim Bilgin), but gave up her career for his. The couple is childless. Little Özlem especially means to her aunt a filling of the void, but the uncle doesn't know how to handle the rather wildly raised child who has no refined manners.
Yet thanks to the situations that arise, he will grow close to his young niece who moreover proves to be musically gifted. Özlem gives him a box with memories from the childhood of her father and uncle and suddenly blurts out what her father had told her about his childhood and why his brother was once put alone on a boat to Italy as a child. Many heartbreaking memories come to the surface.
The different characters are depicted extraordinarily strongly: the ambitious violinist who loves excessive luxury and for whom everything seems to be solely about his name and fame; the warm-hearted simple, poorly dressed, sensitive street musicians; the lonely, childless aunt; the inspiration that true artists draw from challenging circumstances in life. All elements come together skilfully in a fine depiction in today's Istanbul in an irrefutable story. You see both modern Istanbul, many picturesque corners and sides, but also painful impoverishment that reigns, as in all major cities, in poor neighbourhoods.
Sometimes there is some exaggeration towards a mix of a Holly- and Bollywoodian model, but this ultimately does no real harm to the whole. The film certainly opens a door for classical music to a very large audience. An element that must not be lost sight of. Who knows, this film may contribute to a more intense musical life not only in Turkey, but throughout the world. Because yes, music connects so much better and more than anything else, and whether the world's population needs that today with the threat of a frightening world conflict…
Cast: Engin Altan Düzyatan, Belçim Bilgin, Gülizar Nisa Uray and Selim Erdogan
Credits: Script and direction by Andaç Haznedaroglu.
A Netflix release.
Duration: 1.52'