The Bathroom (Banyo)

Mustafa Altıoklar directed Banyo (The Bathroom), a Turkish comedy from 2005 whose erotic and crime-tinged edge sets it apart from plain comedy. Released on September 2, 2005, it runs about 87 minutes. Altıoklar wrote the script from Gül Abus Semerci's stage play of the same name. The producers are Mehmet Altıoklar, Şahin Alparslan and Emine Altıoklar, and the film was the first release from the director's family production company.

Its defining choice is location: the whole story unfolds in three bathrooms. Two belong to adjoining apartments, and the third looks straight at them from across the way. Through this narrow frame, which looks into the most private corner of a home, the secrets of three separate couples intertwine with the story of an art student who, while researching a project, passes for a peeping young man. Male-female clashes, concealed betrayals and quietly growing selfishness reach the screen through this window. The cast includes Selçuk Yöntem, Burak Sergen and Demet Evgar, together with Seray Sever and Janset as Nesrin.

Altıoklar had made his big breakthrough with İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında and has since been one of Turkish cinema's prolific names. One critic found the film middling, giving it 2.5 and a pass, while viewers rated it 2.0 across 619 votes.