Biyograficim
Article 438 (Madde 438)

Article 438 (Madde 438)

Movie · 1990 · 16 people

Ümit Efekan directed Madde 438 ("Article 438"), a 1990 Turkish drama-thriller shot in colour and running 84 minutes. It takes its name from Article 438 of the Turkish Penal Code, a provision that softened the sentence for rape committed against sex workers, and its script grew out of a real event, known as the "N.T. Olayı", that the provision set off. Efekan wrote the screenplay with Erdoğan Tünaş.

Gülşen Bubikoğlu plays Naciye Tuna, the film's central figure. Berhan Şimşek is Sabri Timur, Nedim Doğan is Arif and Hakan Ural is Oktay; Mehtap Anıl plays the mother-in-law, Güzin Çorağan is Perihan and Işık Aras is Fahriye. The cast also brings in the world of police and courts: Hakkı Kıvanç and Memduh Ünsal appear as police chiefs, Ekrem Dümer as a judge, Nejat Gürçen as a lawyer and Devrim Parscan as a jurist, while Dündar Aydınlı plays Kazım. Child actors Duygu İnal and Onur Öztatlı also appear.

Türker İnanoğlu produced the film for Erler Film, with Fono Film as the film-preparation studio. Melih Kibar composed the score and Çetin Gürtop was the cinematographer. Adnan İrkut coordinated production. In the dubbing credits, Müdrike Coşansu and Sema Aybars voice Gülşen Bubikoğlu and Zafer Önen voices Nejat Gürçen.

DirectorÜmit Efekan
Production companyErler Film

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Cast

Gülşen Bubikoğlu Gülşen Bubikoğlu Actor · 71 years old Naciye Tuna Berhan Şimşek Berhan Şimşek Actor · 69 years old Sabri Timur Hakan Ural Nedim Doğan Nejat Gürçen Ekrem Dümer Ekrem Dümer Actor · died at 71 Judge Hakkı Kıvanç Hakkı Kıvanç Actor · died at 83 Police Inspector Memduh Ünsal Mehtap Anıl Işık Aras Akif Kilman Devrim Parscan Yaşar Kutbay Güzin Çorağan Güzin Çorağan Actor · 1943 – 2022 Perihan Zafer Önen Zafer Önen Actor · died at 92 Selahattin Fırat Selahattin Fırat Film actor · died at 88

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Through different eyes

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

For those who know Gülşen Bubikoğlu from the Yeşilçam years, Madde 438 shows an entirely different face: at its centre is a woman confronted with an unjust legal provision. Melih Kibar's score and Türker İnanoğlu's production tie the film to the craftsmanship of the old masters. Yet the subject is far from the warmth of the classics; to my mind this is less a tearjerker than a hard reckoning born of a real event. An eye seeking the moral centre of classic cinema finds it here as a righteous anger aimed at an article of the law.

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

Taking its name straight from an article of the Turkish Penal Code is a striking choice for a film. Article 438 softened the sentence for rape committed against sex workers; in other words, the law valued a woman's body differently according to her occupation. Building the script on a real event, known as the "N.T. Olayı", moves the issue out of abstract legal debate and into a concrete human story. The presence of police, judge, lawyer and jurist characters also suggests the film sets out to question institutions. Bringing this debate to the screen in a mainstream production in 1990 was a significant step.

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

A very heavy film whose subject is rape and a legal provision that softened the sentence for it. There are child actors in the cast, but it is not something to watch with children. For adults and older teenagers who can grasp the subject, it is a film that makes you think about women's rights and justice; it is best to know what it is about and be prepared before watching.

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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