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Ali Baba ve Yedi Cüceler

Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs (Ali Baba ve Yedi Cüceler)

Movie · 2015 · 10 people

Cem Yılmaz wrote, directed and produced Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs, a 2015 Turkish comedy-action film that is the fourth film he has both written and directed. It runs about 114 minutes. Delayed by the election period and terror incidents, it opened on 13 November 2015 in 352 theatres. It drew 540,000 viewers in its first three days, beating the 399,000 opening of his previous film, Pek Yakında.

The story centres on Ali Şenay and his brother-in-law İlber, partners in the Şenay Cüccaciye company, who design and sell garden gnomes. After failing in the domestic market, they go to a gardening fair in Sofia to expand abroad. A chance misunderstanding entangles them with the men of mafia boss Boris Mancov, and they end up in the middle of a cat-and-mouse manhunt. Yılmaz plays both Ali Şenay and Boris Mancov; Çetin Altay is İlber, Zafer Algöz is Kenan Memedov, Yosi Mizrahi is Tayanç Pakça and Irina Ivkina is Veronika.

Bahtiyar Engin and Beyti Engin also appear. Part of it was shot in Bulgaria. It draws on the works of Barış Manço and gives one character a name close to his. CMYLMZ produced it. One critic welcomed it as the long-missed Cem Yılmaz flavour.

DirectorCem Yılmaz
Production companyCMYLMZ
Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs (Ali Baba ve Yedi Cüceler) Ali Baba and the Seven Dwarfs (Ali Baba ve Yedi Cüceler)

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Cast

Cem Yılmaz Cem Yılmaz Actor · 53 years old Çetin Altay Irina Ivkina Zafer Algöz Zafer Algöz Actor · 65 years old Can Yılmaz Yosi Mizrahi Bahtiyar Engin Bahtiyar Engin Actor · 61 years old Yavor Baharov Duygu Bal Ventsislav Yankov

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Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

The comedy-action label fits: two partners who head to Sofia to sell garden gnomes land in the middle of a mafia cat-and-mouse game through a misunderstanding. The chase setup gives the film movement. But the action here serves the jokes; if you want hard-edged tension or big set pieces, it may feel light. Cem Yılmaz playing both the hero and the mafia boss adds a fun mirror effect to the chase.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A familiar treat for families who enjoy Cem Yılmaz's humour. Garden gnomes, two partners whose business is going nowhere and a string of misunderstandings can make young and old laugh alike. But there is a mafia and a chase involved, so it is worth being prepared if you watch with very small children. Grown-ups will catch the Barış Manço references better, which makes it a good shared evening across generations.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Cem Yılmaz's fourth film as writer-director drew 540,000 viewers in its first three days, topping the opening of his previous film, Pek Yakında, and one critic greeting it as the long-missed Cem Yılmaz flavour helps explain that interest. The film returns to the familiar ingredients of his humour: a small company's big dreams, misunderstandings that knot up in a foreign setting, and a double role. Drawing on Barış Manço's work adds a pleasant local texture. The problem is the familiarity itself: the misunderstanding-driven chase relies more on formula than surprise, and as writer-director Yılmaz stays safely on known ground rather than opening up anything new.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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