Biyograficim
On the Fertile Lands (Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde)

On the Fertile Lands (Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde) (translated)

Movie · 1979 · 7 people

Day laborers looking for work in the Çukurova region, with their merciless conditions, hopes and pain, are the subject of Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde (On Fertile Lands). Erden Kıral directed this Turkish social-realist drama from a story by Orhan Kemal. Sources date it to 1979 or 1980, but its screening was delayed for years by a martial-law ban.

At its center are three friends who come to Çukurova from Sivas: Köse Hasan, Pehlivan Ali and Yusuf, forced to work under harsh conditions. Tuncel Kurtiz plays the man who leads the group of laborers, with Yaman Okay and Nur Sürer in the cast. The script was first written by Mahmut Tali Öngören, but when Kıral disliked it, actor Tuncel Kurtiz rewrote it.

Shooting finished in 1979 and the martial-law authorities banned the film. Producer Nurettin Sezer took the negatives to Sweden for safekeeping, and in the coup days Kıral lost track of them. In 1981 a vote in Strasbourg named it "Best European Film", and it won two awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, though a travel ban kept Kıral from collecting his prize. Once the negatives were found, the film was cut by 12 minutes and shown again in Turkey on May 2, 2008, 28 years later.

DirectorErden Kıral

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Nur Sürer Nur Sürer Actor · 72 years old Fatma Tuncel Kurtiz Tuncel Kurtiz Actor · died at 77 Yaman Okay Yaman Okay Actor · died at 41 Ali Selçuk Uluergüven Selçuk Uluergüven Actor · died at 72 Labour Foreman Bülent Kayabaş Bülent Kayabaş Actor · died at 71 Harman Sahibi Osman Alyanak Osman Alyanak Actor · 1911 – 1991 Topal Aga Erol Demiröz Erol Demiröz Actor · died at 80 Harman Ustası

Titles sharing this cast

More from this director

Through different eyes

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

Adapted from a story by Orhan Kemal, the film shows the merciless conditions of day-labour farm work through three friends who come from Sivas to Çukurova looking for work: Köse Hasan, Pehlivan Ali and Yusuf. It may be one of the most honest records of internal migration and cheap labor in Turkish cinema. The film's own history speaks of its era too: finished in 1979, it was banned under martial law, its negatives were taken to Sweden for safekeeping, and it was shown again in Turkey only in 2008, 28 years later and 12 minutes shorter. Given that a vote in Strasbourg had named it Best European Film, that delay is all the more telling.

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

For an eye raised on Orhan Kemal, this adaptation is a precious labor that carries the sweat and hope of his pages onto the screen. That Tuncel Kurtiz both plays the man leading the laborers and rewrote the script makes you feel how heartfelt the film is, and Nur Sürer and Yaman Okay lend this world its truthfulness. Far from Yeşilçam's colorful comedies, it is harsh but keeps people at its center. It is heartbreaking that it went so many years without reaching its audience; even in its shortened form it is a fitting tribute to one of the great masters of Turkish literature.

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

Honestly, this is a tough watch if you want pace. It is a social-realist drama, so don't expect chases or big action set pieces. The tension comes from somewhere else: three men struggling to hold on under brutal conditions, and the sense that things could go wrong at any moment. If you have the patience it hits hard; if not, you may drift off in the first half.

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

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments