Jump to content

Valley of the Wolves: Palestine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Userpd (talk | contribs) at 23:01, 9 July 2011 (→Release). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Valley of the Wolves: Palestine
Theatrical poster
Directed byZübeyr Şaşmaz
Written by
Produced byRaci Şaşmaz
Starring
CinematographySelahattin Sancaklı
Edited byKemalettin Osmanlı
Music byGökhan Kırdar
Production
company
Distributed byÖzen Film
Release date
  • January 28, 2011 (2011-01-28)
CountryTemplate:FilmTurkey
LanguageTurkish
Budget$10 million

Valley of the Wolves: Palestine (Turkish: Kurtlar Vadisi: Filistin) is a Turkish action film, directed by Zübeyr Şaşmaz, about a Turkish commando team which goes to Palestine to track down the Israeli military commander responsible for the Gaza flotilla raid. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on January 28, 2011 (2011-01-28), is one of the most expensive Turkish films ever made. It is part of the Valley of the Wolves media franchise, based on the Turkish television series of the same name, and is a sequel to Valley of the Wolves: Iraq (2006) and Valley of the Wolves: Gladio (2008).[1] The film has caused some controversy, as many film critics believe the film to be containing many antisemitic cliches.[2]

Production

Pana Film had already settled on the Palestinian territories as the setting of the film and was about to start shooting when the May 31, 2010 Gaza flotilla raid occurred. The existing script was subsequently rewritten to feature the raid as the centre piece of the plot. "This is not about taking revenge for Mavi Marmara," stated producer Zübeyr Şaşmaz, "The goal of the film is to show what the Palestinians are going through."[3] Screenwriter Bahadır Özdener added, "We’re calling out to people’s conscience. All we want is freedom for innocent and tormented Palestinian people living in inhumane conditions in the world’s biggest prison."[1]

The film, which is projected to cost over $20 million, making it one of the most expensive Turkish films, was shot in 11 weeks on location in Adana and Tarsus with a team of 400 people during the summer of 2010.[4][5][6] Officials from Pana Film said that these locations were chosen, after scouting several locations in Lebanon, Syria and Bulgaria as well as 20 provinces in Turkey, including Hatay, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep, due to, "the historical texture, the streets and local culture of these places." According to Bünyamın Köselı, writing in Today's Zaman, "approximately 3,000 fans were drawn to the Şehit Kerim neighborhood in Tarsus, where some of the scenes were shot", "which makes the salesmen in the city very happy".[5] Extensive re-shoots were later required after some of the film's action sequences were burned during the lab process.[6]

Plot

After the flotilla attempts to bring humanitarian assistance to Gaza refuses to turn back, it is attacked by the Israeli military. In a dramatic battle scene, activists resist and are mowed down by the Israeli soldiers. A Turkish commando team led by Polat Alemdar (Necati Şaşmaz) travels to West Bank in Palestine, where they launch a campaign against Israeli military personnel in an attempt to track down and eliminate an Israeli general, leader Moşe Ben Eliyezer (Erdal Beşikçioğlu) responsible for the flotilla raid.

Cast

Release

The announcement of the films release came just days after Israel’s attack on the Gaza flotilla and according to Emrah Güler, writing in Hürriyet Daily News, the name of the movie was enough for millions to buy tickets. Technical problems however resulted in the release of the film being postponed until January 28, 2011 (2011-01-28).[7]

The film was premiered at a special gala screening on January 26, 2011 (2011-01-26) and a press screening on January 27, 2011 (2011-01-27) at Nişantaşı City's Shopping Mall in Istanbul, where director Zübeyr Şaşmaz defended his film against criticism like that the film would earn money by exploiting Palestine and Islamic feelings.[3][8][9]

Many commenters criticized the action to be too artificial. Mostly they refer to two scenes, where the protagonist responds to an Israeli officer asking for the reason to come to Israel: "I didn’t come to Israel, I came to Palestine." and where the protagonist assures the main antagonist of the film - Moshe that he will have his 'promised land' only 'six feet under'.

The film finally received an 18 certificate from the FSK in Germany because of their initial concerns over the film's perceived anti-Israeli and anti-American overtones and its scheduled release on January 27, 2011 (2011-01-27) (International Holocaust Remembrance Day), which caused some controversy about it being antisemitic propaganda. Especially Jewish organisations, but also politicians with Turkish descent opposed the film for his hatefulness and some tried to ban it.[10][11][12][13][14][9]

The film opened on nationwide general release in 364 screens across Turkey on January 28, 2011 (2011-01-28) at number 1 in the national box office with a first weekend gross of US$3,830,431.[15]

Allegations of Anti-Semitism

It's suggested that in the film there are many references to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A scene where Moshe demonstrates the special bullets is patterned on the scene in Schindler's List, where the German commander shoots the Jews. In this movie's scene the Nazi is replaced by the Jew.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Arsu, Sebnem (2010-09-02). "'Valley of the Wolves: Palestine'". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,741780,00.html
  3. ^ a b "Anti-Israel film on Gaza ship opens in Turkey". Cumhuriyet. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Valley of the Wolves: Palestine". Cumhuriyet. 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2010-07-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b Köselı, Bünyamın (2010-08-15). "'Valley of the Wolves: Palestine'". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-08-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ a b Tokay, Murat (2010-08-15). "Actor Necati Şaşmaz is a fan of his onscreen persona". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-08-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Güler, Emrah (2010-07-16). "Turkish cinema hopes to cash in on political turmoil". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2010-07-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Movie on Gaza aid ship opens in Turkey". Today's Zaman. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ a b "'Valley of the Wolves: Palestine' released in Turkey". Hürriyet Daily News. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,741780,00.html
  11. ^ "German film board prevents release of Turkish film". Hürriyet Daily News. 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2011-01-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "'Valley of the Wolves' is just a movie, Turkish ministry says". Hürriyet Daily News. 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2011-01-26. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Harvey, Benjamin (2011-01-27). "Turkey revenge movie gets German snub on Holocaust Day". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2011-01-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "German ratings agency reverses decision on Turkish film". Hürriyet Daily News. 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2011-01-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "Kurtlar Vadisi Filistin (Valley of the Wolves: Palestine)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-01-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valley_of_the_Wolves:_Palestine&oldid=438654379"