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Killing the Shadows (Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?)

Killing the Shadows (Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?)

Movie · 2006 · 23 people

Shot in 2005 and released on February 17, 2006, Ezel Akay's 135-minute historical comedy Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü? (Killing the Shadows) opens what he conceived as an "Anatolian Middle Ages trilogy". It imagines how Hacivat and Karagöz, the two pillars of Turkish shadow theater, came to be, and looks at medieval Anatolia with a humorous eye.

The story is set in fourteenth-century Bursa. Anatolia's states and principalities are worn down by Mongol raids and people flood into the city. Karagöz, played by Haluk Bilginer, has fled Mongol tax collectors with his mother; he is an ignorant but very sharp Turkmen nomad. Hacivat (Beyazıt Öztürk) is a talkative, opportunistic courier carrying news between states. They meet when Hacivat buys Karagöz's sick cow, notices his natural talent and, together, they start work as stonemasons on a mosque built by Orhan Gazi. Their banter amuses the laborers and slows the work, and trouble follows. The cast also includes Şebnem Dönmez, Güven Kıraç, Levent Kazak, Ayşe Tolga and Ragıp Savaş (Orhan Gazi).

The script is by Levent Kazak and Ezel Akay, who also plays Eşrefoğlu Süleyman Bey. It was shot in the Orhaneli district of Bursa and produced by Şafak Film and İstisnai Filmler.

DirectorEzel Akay
Production companyŞafak Film

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Cast

Ayşe Tolga Ayşe Tolga Actor · 53 years old Nilüfer Hatun Beyazıt Öztürk Beyazıt Öztürk Actor · 57 years old Hacivat Güven Kıraç Güven Kıraç Actor · 66 years old Pervane Haluk Bilginer Haluk Bilginer Actor · 72 years old Karagöz Levent Kazak Levent Kazak Actor · 59 years old Dimitri Şebnem Dönmez Şebnem Dönmez Actor · 52 years old Ayşe Hatun Nihal Yalçın Nihal Yalçın Actor · 45 years old Zeyno Bacı Metin Keçeci Metin Keçeci Actor · 50 years old Tıraşçı Esra Kızıldoğan Esra Kızıldoğan Actor · 46 years old Öner Erkan Öner Erkan Actor · 46 years old Tıraşçı Tulgar Murat Akkoyunlu Murat Akkoyunlu Actor · 53 years old Officer Bıkkın Tansu Biçer Tansu Biçer Actor · 48 years old Misak Selen Seyven Selen Seyven Actor · 40 years old Playful Girl Numan Acar Numan Acar Film actor · 52 years old Tıraşçı Ali Nadir Sarıbacak Nadir Sarıbacak Actor · 49 years old Officer Ahi Kelami Mete Horozoğlu Mete Horozoğlu Actor · 51 years old Officer Çığırtkan Hasan Ali Mete Hasan Ali Mete Actor · 60 years old Küşteri Ezel Akay Ezel Akay Film director · 65 years old Süleyman Bey of Eşrefoğlu Nergis Öztürk Nergis Öztürk Film actor · 46 years old Jahan Bacı Ayşen Gruda Ayşen Gruda Actor · died at 74 Kam Ana Mine Tugay Mine Tugay Actor · 48 years old Bacı Aslı Ragıp Savaş Ragıp Savaş Actor · 60 years old Orhan Gazi Serdar Gökhan Serdar Gökhan Actor · 83 years old Köse Mihal

Also in the cast: Beyaz (Hacivat)

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Through different eyes

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

Hacivat and Karagöz are two shadows that have made generations laugh from behind the screen. Ezel Akay's film writes them a fictional origin story, and in the sparring between Haluk Bilginer and Beyazıt Öztürk the old spirit of the shadow play comes alive now and then. Looking at fourteenth-century Bursa with a playful eye is a charming idea. But 135 minutes is a long stretch next to the lean, brief, sharp wit of the shadow play itself. Even so, it is a carefully made film that looks on our tradition with affection.

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

The film paints fourteenth-century Bursa as a city where people worn down by Mongol raids flock for refuge; migration and the search for safety form the story's backdrop. Karagöz, an unlettered but very sharp Turkmen nomad, and Hacivat, a talkative courier carrying news between states, stand for two social types: the nomad and the urban go-between. Their work as stonemasons on the mosque commissioned by Orhan Ghazi also opens a small window onto the labor of the period. This is not a history lesson, though, but an openly fictional origin story; it is best read as a humorous look at Anatolia's Middle Ages rather than a source on the era.

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

It could be fun for children who already know Hacivat and Karagöz. The pair's banter is funny and the story moves like a historical tale. But the film runs 135 minutes, which is long for little ones. Mongol raids and people fleeing them are also part of the background. With children of middle-school age and up, it makes for an enjoyable family evening.

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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