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8.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 8.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Ankara - Heart of Turkey remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you enjoy looking at grainy black-and-white footage of people who have been dead for eighty years, then yes. This is a total gem for history nerds or people who like the 'vibe' of the 1930s.
If you want a story with a plot and characters you care about, you will probably hate this. It is basically a very long, very expensive home movie for a government.
I watched this on a rainy Tuesday and it felt like a weird fever dream from another planet. It’s a Soviet film about Turkey, which is a mix you don’t see every day.
The first thing you notice is the dust. Everything looks like it needs a good sweep.
The directors, Sergei Yutkevich and his crew, clearly loved angles. They shoot buildings like they are heroes in an action movie.
There is this one shot of a construction worker’s face that lingers for way too long. He just looks tired, but the camera treats him like a Greek god.
The film is trying so hard to show how 'modern' everything is. You see a lot of concrete and straight lines.
It reminds me a bit of the silent energy in something like Enemies of Progress. Just that feeling of 'look at us, we are building the future!'
The film spends a lot of time on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He just walks around looking important while everyone else tries not to trip over their own feet.
There is a sequence with kids in school that feels totally staged. They are all sitting perfectly still, staring at their books like their lives depend on it.
It’s almost funny how much they want you to know they have electricity now. Every lightbulb gets its own close-up shot.
You can tell Russians made this because it feels like a montage of steel and sweat. It has that 'worker power' energy you’d find in a propaganda reel from Moscow.
But it's weirdly beautiful in spots. The way the shadows fall across the old ruins of Ankara makes the city look like a haunted house being renovated.
It’s not as theatrical as The Sideshow, but it has its own kind of drama. Mostly the drama of 'will this building finish on time?'
The pacing is a bit of a mess, though. It goes from fast cuts of machines to a ten-minute speech that feels like an hour.
I found myself checking my phone during the long military marches. There are only so many men in uniform you can watch walking in a line before your brain turns to mush.
It’s a made-to-order film, so it doesn't have a soul in the traditional sense. It’s a brochure that happens to be on film strips.
But as a piece of photography? It's kind of stunning. I love the way the sky looks in these old films—almost white and endless.
If you’ve seen Road to Rio and thought 'I want something way more political and way less funny,' this is your movie. (Just kidding, they are nothing alike).
Anyway, it’s a weirdly peaceful watch if you just let the images wash over you. Don't worry about the history too much. Just look at the hats.
Would I watch it again? Probably not. But I’m glad I saw it once. It’s like eating a very dry cracker that happens to be shaped like a piece of art. 🏛️
IMDb 5.5
1927
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