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A Matter of the Homeland (Memleket Meselesi)

A Matter of the Homeland (Memleket Meselesi) (translated)

Movie · 2010 · 6 people

A single slap grows into a national affair in Memleket Meselesi ("A Matter of the Homeland"), a Turkish drama-comedy. İsa Yıldız wrote and directed it; it reached cinemas on December 31, 2010, and runs about 105 minutes. It ran 31 weeks and earned 203,048 TL. Ahmet Uğurlu, known for his distinctive humor, takes the lead, and the film looks critically but warmly at everyday injustices.

At the center is Adil Hoca, a primary school teacher near retirement. His stubborn, straight-talking nature has brought him years of disfavour and exile and worn out even his wife Nazife. When he is finally posted to his own town, life seems set to calm down, until a young policeman swears at him and slaps him, wounding his pride. Getting nowhere with the district police and the prosecutor, he widens the fight; the townspeople back him and the incident becomes a matter for the whole country. Füsun Demirel plays Nazife, Tuna Orhan Haceli, Ahmet Kural Mustafa, Bora Akkaş Deniz and Ufuk Bayraktar the policeman, with Selahattin Terlemez as the prosecutor.

ACR Yapım made it and UIP distributed; Sefa Tiryaki produced and Özgür Akgül and Mehmet Erdem composed the music.

Directorİsa Yıldız
Production companyACR Yapım

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Cast

Bora Akkaş Bora Akkaş Actor · 36 years old Deniz Ufuk Bayraktar Ufuk Bayraktar Actor · 45 years old Police Officer Ahmet Uğurlu Adil Hoca Füsun Demirel Füsun Demirel Actor · 68 years old Nazife Tuna Orhan Tuna Orhan Actor · 60 years old Haceli Ahmet Kural Ahmet Kural Actor · 44 years old Mustafa

Also in the cast: Selahattin Terlemez (prosecutor)

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

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

A single slap becoming a national affair is a clever device that weighs everyday injustice and personal dignity on the same scale. Adil Hoca being exiled for years for his stubborn, outspoken nature is a familiar portrait of the civil servant who will not bend to the state, and his name meaning just is hardly an accident. The townspeople backing him shows how solidarity can grow in small places. The film approaches the issue with a critical but warm eye rather than harsh language, which keeps it a story about society instead of a manifesto. Still, the incident spreading across the whole country works by the logic of a fable more than by realism.

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

The premise is strong: a small insult snowballing is an ideal skeleton for a good black comedy. But striking the tonal balance between drama and comedy is the hardest job in stories like this, and the weak press reviews suggest the film struggles with that balance. Ahmet Uğurlu's distinctive humor is a sound choice for the lead, yet a narrative like this needs a structure that keeps escalating; the idea does not always find the dramatic steps to carry a feature, and some stretches turn into the same situation repeated in different offices. In the end, a film whose idea is better than its structure.

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

A teacher near retirement standing up for his dignity is a good example for young people about honesty and claiming your rights. The comedy side makes it easier to watch as a family. But the story starts with a policeman swearing at the teacher and slapping him, and young children may have questions about that scene. Comfortable viewing with children of middle-school age and up.

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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