To be frank, Agir Roman, though highly praised by most of the critics in Turkey, was not totally a great work of Mustafa Altioklar.It had some innovative aspects-especially in terms of direction when compared with most of the previous Turkish movies- as well as remarkable shortcomings.
First of all, as for the direction, this movie was quite an accomplishment for Mustafa Altioklar as far as his personal direction style is concerned- I found it very specific, very original and -though rarely- visually stunning. Especially the way he shot the scenes and the stylish camera movements fairly reminded me of the independent films in US. I think in a few years' time, "Agir Roman" may be regarded as a milestone in the Turkish film industry by Turkish critics since it gave rise to the recent popularity of the Turkish movies that were more likely to be shot in "independent film" style (e.g. Karisik pizza, asansor).
As for the acting, I found it quite successful. The cast was simply great. Okan Bayulgen was especially outstanding and thus proved himself a splendid actor, giving the impressive portrayal of an ordinary young man born in a ghetto.
In the next place, however, I would like to point out that if some of the audience did not like this movie despite the high praise of critics, I think the screenplay was the basic reason for that. I especially found the dialogue in most of the scenes fairly unrealistic, as though the events took place almost in a dream world rather than a Turkish ghetto. Moreover, the screenplay was not comprehensible enough to be fathomed by most of the audience so that a considerable number of people I know did not grasp the whole plot for the first time they watched the movie.
Finally, I recommend this movie to the ones who do not expect too much. Yes, it was quite decent but certainly not a must see one!
