Mistress (Metres)

Mistress (Metres) (translated)

Movie · 1983 · 13 people

Orhan Elmas directed the 1983 Turkish color film Metres ("Mistress"). Classed as drama and emotional, it was written by Safa Önal, who based the script on the 1960 American film Butterfield 8, starring Elizabeth Taylor. That places Metres among the productions of Yeşilçam in its day that drew on foreign films. Türkan Şoray and Can Gürzap play the leads.

At the center of the film are Feride, played by Şoray, and Orhan, played by Gürzap. Its key elements include a relationship, a high-society setting, a prostitute, a summer house, the sea, a swimsuit, a fur coat and a dress. The cast also includes Neriman Köksal (Nurten), Metin Serezli (Kenan), Nevra Serezli (Müzeyyen), Hüseyin Kutman (the doorman İsmail), İhsan Devrim (Necip), Cem Ermiş (Kerem), Hakkı Kıvanç (the Captain) and Turgut Savaş (Turgut); Sami Özaltın and Ahmet Açan play the two doctors.

Nazmi Özer produced for Emek Film, with Lale Film credited for preparation. Salih Dikişçi was director of photography, Erkan Esenboğa handled the music and sound recording, and İsmail Kalkan edited. The film was dubbed at Yeni Stüdyo, with Esen Günay voicing Can Gürzap, Nevin Akkaya voicing Neriman Köksal, Zafer Önen voicing İhsan Devrim and Ünal Gürel voicing Hüseyin Kutman.

DirectorOrhan Elmas
Production companyEmek Film

Reactions

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Cast

Also in the cast: Sami Özaltın

Through different eyes

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

A film that pairs Türkân Şoray with Can Gürzap, written by a craftsman like Safa Önal: that alone is enough to arouse curiosity. Yet the fact that the script is adapted from Butterfield 8, the Elizabeth Taylor picture, also recalls a common habit of those years: dressing another culture's story in our own people's clothes. Adaptations like this draw their warmth from the actors; fur coats, summer houses and society salons do not supply a soul on their own. In my view, what carries the film is Şoray's familiar sincerity. For an eye that loves the plain, home-grown stories of the classics, the décor may feel a little overdressed.

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

Meters is a good case study of how Yeşilçam in the early 1980s fed on foreign films. Safa Önal's script is based on the 1960 American film Butterfield 8 and transplants its high-society setting, summer houses and furs into a local story. The really interesting question is how the story of a woman who sells her company was reinterpreted for the Turkey of the time: how much of what it says about morality, class and a woman's place in society survived, and how much was softened to suit local audiences? In that sense the film is a small but instructive record of how imported stories were reconciled with the values of an era.

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

By its subject this is a drama for adults. At its center are a kept woman and paid relationships, with high-society life and love affairs in the foreground. Grandparents who love Türkân Şoray may enjoy it, but it isn't a good choice to sit down and watch with children. For teenagers, too, it's best if a parent takes a look first.

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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