Biyograficim
My Father (Babam)

My Father (Babam) (translated)

Movie · 2017 · 12 people

About a father and his son, the Turkish drama Babam ("My Father") was released on 6 October 2017. Nihat Durak directed and wrote the screenplay with Nail Pelivan. The 130-minute film drew about 171,000 admissions and roughly 2 million lira. Fono Film and Durak Film produced it; UIP distributed it.

Its hero is Yusuf Tunalı (Çetin Tekindor), who owns a sardine canning factory. With the business close to sinking he loses his wife and is left alone with his mentally disabled son Arif (Berker Güven), whom he has never accepted. The picture shifts when Feride (Melisa Şenolsun), a young teacher who could not get a posting, takes a job at the factory: Arif slowly comes out of his shell under her attention, and Yusuf's view of his son changes along the way. The three grow closer, Yusuf's better self emerges, and his responsibilities push him into surprising decisions. Ebru Şahin, Cezmi Baskın and Erkan Kolçak Köstendil also appear.

Shooting started in late July 2017 in Gelibolu, Çanakkale, and wrapped about six weeks later, at the end of August. The project was first known as Sardalya Kokusu ("The Scent of Sardines"); in the last week of filming the screenwriter announced the new title. Ege Ellidokuzoğlu was cinematographer and Filiz Üstün Durak producer.

DirectorNihat Durak
Production companyFono Film, Durak Film

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Cast

Çetin Tekindor Çetin Tekindor Actor · 81 years old Yusuf Tunalı Berker Güven Berker Güven Actor · 32 years old Arif Tunalı Ebru Şahin Ebru Şahin Actor · 32 years old Nilüfer Cansu Fırıncı Cansu Fırıncı Actor · 44 years old Ömer Seray Gözler Seray Gözler Actor · 65 years old Sema Serap Önder Serap Önder Actor · 70 years old Ali İhsan Varol Ali İhsan Varol Actor · 50 years old Cezmi Baskın Cezmi Baskın Actor · 77 years old Metin Güner Özkul Güner Özkul Actor · 60 years old Ali Düşenkalkar Ali Düşenkalkar Actor · 65 years old Bacanak Melisa Şenolsun Melisa Şenolsun Actor · 30 years old Feride Erkan Kolçak Köstendil Erkan Kolçak Köstendil Actor · 43 years old Deniz

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Through different eyes

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Yusuf, whose factory is on the brink of failing, has to face the son he has never been able to accept, Arif: a warm story that recalls the father-and-child dramas of old Turkish films. Acceptance and change sit at its centre, and a moral centre like that is worth having. Çetin Tekindor's weight in the father's role gives the film something to hold on to. It may of course be said that the emotional moments stay a little familiar and guiding; still, sincerity dominates. Watching a bridge slowly built between a father and son was one of the things old cinema taught us to love most, and that affection finds its place here too.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

A father's years of failing to accept his child with an intellectual disability offers a frame for questioning social attitudes toward disability. Yusuf has lost his wife, his factory is on the brink and he is left alone with his son; economic pressure and the struggle for acceptance inside the family are intertwined. The film's strength is that it treats the theme not through broad social analysis but through a father and son growing closer. Its weaker side is that the change rests largely on a young teacher's attention; in real life such a transformation is usually slower and harder, though the film does make the subject visible.

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

Babam builds a story of acceptance along a classic line: loss, confrontation, change. Çetin Tekindor and Berker Güven carry the emotional load, and the film does so largely through performance. The dramaturgy is predictable, though; when emotional rewards come early and easily, surprise is gone; the story flows in the expected direction. 130 minutes may be a little wide for so straight an arc. There is a loving intention and clean craft, but an eye looking for novelty will not find much. The editing and cinematography are clean, but no bold choice stands out that would give the telling a personality.

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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