Safe and Sound (Sağ Salim)

Safe and Sound (Sağ Salim) (translated)

Movie · 2012 · 8 people

Ersoy Güler both directed and produced Sağ Salim, a Turkish road comedy released on May 18, 2012. It tells of the chaos that follows when a naive Anatolian villager, terrified of death and the dead, is forced to transport a corpse. The film runs about 98 minutes and later led to a sequel, Sağ Salim 2: Sil Baştan.

Burçin Bildik plays the hero, Salim, who scrapes a living hauling goods from his village to town in a battered pickup painted Fenerbahçe canary yellow. After a nightmare one morning, the village headman asks him to carry a body from Mersin to Sivas, and though reluctant Salim cannot refuse. The body comes from Değirmendere village in Silifke. A crate-like coffin is loaded onto the pickup and the comic journey begins. When the lid pops open on the road, Salim freezes, and Recai (Alper Saldıran) helps him. Fulya Zenginer, Oğuzhan Uğur and Nazlı Tosunoğlu are also in the cast, and Hüseyin Avni Danyal plays the headman.

Besides Güler, the writing team included Ali Alper Erze, Korhan Uğur and Şeyda Delibaşı. One critic calls it a film that sends viewers into fits of laughter.

DirectorErsoy Güler

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Through different eyes

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

Sağ Salim is the coffin-hauling adventure of a naive villager terrified of the dead. The premise may sound a little scary at first, but the film plays it entirely for laughs. Burçin Bildik's Salim is likeable, and a road trip in a canary-yellow pickup may well catch children's interest. Still, the subject of death and funerals could frighten little ones. It works as a family film from around twelve upwards.

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

Ersoy Güler's road comedy starts from a solid idea: a man afraid of death and the dead is forced to carry a body from Mersin to Sivas. The premise opens onto rich ground for black comedy, but the film mostly chooses to stay in safe territory. Its laughs come largely from variations on the same joke built on Salim's fear, and the characters barely deepen over the journey. The pairing of Burçin Bildik and Alper Saldıran works in places. The fits of laughter one critic mentions may be real for some viewers, but the limits of formula comedy are plain to see.

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

A battered pickup hauling goods from village to town, a naive but good-hearted villager, a headman's request that cannot be refused... Sağ Salim tries to capture a warmth we know from Yeşilçam's Anatolian comedies. Salim's fears are endearing, and the village atmosphere lends the story a pleasant local flavor. Yet some of the jokes lean on shouting and exaggerated reactions rather than the gentle wit of the old masters. One would have liked the film to look on its hero with a little more tenderness.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments