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Şafakta Buluşalım

Let's Meet at Dawn (Şafakta Buluşalım) (translated)

Movie · 1975 · 9 people

Orhan Aksoy directed the Turkish film Şafakta Buluşalım, released on 1 March 1975 and mixing drama, adventure, crime and romance. Shot in colour and running 83 minutes, it is a remake of the 1972 picture The Summertime Killer. Safa Önal wrote the script and Erler Film produced it.

The story follows Halil, who as a child saw his jockey father killed by a criminal gang for refusing to fix races. Cüneyt Arkın plays Halil, who years later targets the gang's men one by one, at a petrol station and in a sauna pool. The third target, Semih Bey, escapes the trap and has Halil jailed. Semih's dirty business goes on; his only weakness is his daughter Gülben, who lost her mother early and knows nothing of his real life. When Halil gets ten days' leave for good behaviour, he gathers a gun, a car and the key to a mountain house, goes after Semih and abducts Gülben. What happens at the house changes how the two see each other; the reckoning is set for the racetrack.

Eşref Kolçak plays Semih Bey and Gülşen Bubikoğlu plays Gülben. Kenan Pars, Hayati Hamzaoğlu, Atilla Ergün, Hüseyin Zan, Hakkı Kıvanç and Zeki Sezer are also in the cast. Türker İnanoğlu produced it and Çetin Gürtop shot it.

DirectorOrhan Aksoy
Production companyErler Film

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Cast

Atilla Ergün Actor · died at 59 Cüneyt Arkın Cüneyt Arkın Actor · died at 84 Gülşen Bubikoğlu Gülşen Bubikoğlu Actor · 71 years old Hakkı Kıvanç Hakkı Kıvanç Actor · died at 83 Hüseyin Zan Hüseyin Zan Actor · died at 80 Kenan Pars Kenan Pars Actor · died at 88 Zeki Sezer Zeki Sezer Actor · died at 77 Ekrem Dümer Ekrem Dümer Actor · died at 71 Muharrem Gürses Muharrem Gürses Actor · died at 85

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Through different eyes

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

Seeing Cüneyt Arkın and Gülşen Bubikoğlu on the same poster carries a warmth that recalls the cinemas of the seventies. While telling the story of a man bent on revenge, Şafakta Buluşalım also leans on a theme Yeşilçam loved: the villain's one weakness, an innocent daughter who knows nothing of her father's true face, and two opposing sides coming to see each other differently. Eşref Kolçak's Semih Bey carries the dignified menace that suited the villains of the period. Safa Önal's story tries to weigh conscience as well as revenge. Through today's eyes some turns may look hurried, but for those who love the spirit of the era it is a pleasant journey.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A classic, solid revenge template: Halil goes after the men of the gang that killed his father, one by one, one at a petrol station, one in a sauna pool. The third target slipping the trap and getting Halil jailed is a good twist, and Cüneyt Arkın is at ease in this kind of role. Tying the showdown to the racetrack builds real curiosity. But as the mountain-house section drifts into emotional drama, the pace risks sagging; if you're here for action, that's likely the stretch that tests your patience.

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

Şafakta Buluşalım is a remake of the 1972 picture The Summertime Killer, and a typical example of seventies Turkish cinema rebuilding a foreign genre film with local texture. Safa Önal's script keeps the structure tidy: a childhood trauma, a methodical run of revenge, an unexpected defeat, and a second act that opens with leave from prison. The 83-minute running time keeps the storytelling tight as well. The real problem is that the dramatic weight rests on an abducted young woman and the man who abducted her coming to see each other differently. A choice common in the melodrama tradition of the time, it now plays as both uncomfortable and an unconvincing bridge. Çetin Gürtop's colour photography and Cüneyt Arkın's physical presence hold the film up, but that change of heart never seems fully worked out in the script.

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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