Biyograficim
The Blue-Eyed Giant (Mavi Gözlü Dev)

The Blue-Eyed Giant (Mavi Gözlü Dev) (translated)

Movie · 2007 · 12 people

Made by Sinevizyon Film and directed by Biket İlhan, Mavi Gözlü Dev (The Blue-Eyed Giant) holds its place in film history as the first film about the life of Nâzım Hikmet. This 2007 Turkish biographical film covers the period the poet spent in Bursa Prison after 1941. Its title is drawn from Hikmet's poem "The Blue-Eyed Giant, the Tiny Woman and the Honeysuckles".

Yetkin Dikinciler plays the poet. The cast also includes Uğur Polat, Özge Özberk, Bülent Emrah Parlak, Ferit Kaya, Nil Günal, Okan Yalabık, Sinan Tuzcu and Dolunay Soysert as Piraye.

The screenplay is by Metin Belgin and took more than four years and eight rewrites to complete. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism gave the film 175,000 TL in support, and it was shot on a prison set built in Beykoz by art director Mustafa Ziya Ülkenciler. Cem İdiz wrote the score and also set Hikmet's poem "Invitation" to music, performed by Onur Şentürk. With 228,295 admissions it ranks fifth among films by female directors in Turkey from 2004 to 2013.

DirectorBiket İlhan
Production companySinevizyon Film

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Cast

Bülent Emrah Parlak Bülent Emrah Parlak Actor · 47 years old Ferit Kaya Ferit Kaya Actor · 42 years old Balaban Uğur Polat Uğur Polat Actor · 65 years old Yetkin Dikinciler Yetkin Dikinciler Actor · 57 years old Nazım Özge Özberk Özge Özberk Actor · 50 years old Münevver Nil Günal Nil Günal Actor · 45 years old Okan Yalabık Okan Yalabık Actor · 47 years old Dolunay Soysert Dolunay Soysert Actor · 53 years old Piraye Sinan Tuzcu Sinan Tuzcu Actor · 49 years old Yusuf Turgay Tanülkü Turgay Tanülkü Actor · 73 years old Chief Guard Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan Actor · 61 years old Eyüp Nihat İleri Nihat İleri Actor · born 1955

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Through different eyes

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

By telling of the years Nâzım Hikmet spent in Bursa Prison after 1941, The Blue-Eyed Giant touches one of the most discussed stories about freedom of thought in Turkey. That it is the first film about the poet's life also makes you reflect on how late that life reached the screen. A screenplay rewritten eight times over more than four years shows how hard it is to portray such a sensitive figure. For a film about a poet's life, the real test is showing the poet as a human being rather than a symbol. Reaching more than 228,000 admissions points to an audience that was limited but committed.

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

For anyone who grew up on Nâzım Hikmet's poetry, even the title warms the heart; taking it from the poem "The Blue-Eyed Giant, the Tiny Woman and the Honeysuckles" is a graceful choice. Yetkin Dikinciler takes a brave step in playing the poet, and Dolunay Soysert as Piraye brings a sense of longing to the story. Cem İdiz's score and his setting of the poem "Invitation" bring the film closer to the language of poetry. Still, doing full justice on screen to so great a poet and his lines is no easy task, and those who know his verse well may expect more.

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

The familiar trap of the biopic is turning a life into an album of key moments; The Blue-Eyed Giant sidesteps it wisely by limiting itself to the Bursa Prison years. The prison set Mustafa Ziya Ülkenciler built in Beykoz gives the film a closed, concentrated sense of place. Yet the traces of a screenplay rewritten eight times over more than four years can be felt: the storytelling is at times overly cautious, as if every scene were shot under the weight of responsibility to both the poet and history. Yetkin Dikinciler shoulders a difficult role, and Cem İdiz's score sets the emotional tone. Valuable for those drawn to the subject, but a bolder cinematic language could have been expected.

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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