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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have a thing for old, slightly dusty cinema and don’t mind a plot that feels like it was sketched on a napkin, then maybe. It’s definitely not for folks who need a tight, fast-paced script or high-def gloss. You’ll probably hate it if you get annoyed by movies that just stop rather than finish.
Watching this feels a bit like finding an old photo album in an attic that doesn't quite belong to you. There's a certain charm, sure, but it’s clunky.
Nasit Özcan is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. His face does more work than the actual dialogue half the time. There’s this one scene in a parlor where he just smirks at a woman for a solid ten seconds, and it’s almost uncomfortable how much he’s trying to sell the bit.
It made me think of the way people act in Flying Romeos—just that slight over-the-top energy that feels very much of its era. You know, the kind of acting where the eyebrows have their own agent.
Sometimes the movie just wanders off. It’s like the editor took a long lunch break and just left the cameras rolling on a street corner. There’s a stretch in the middle that felt like a lifetime, though I couldn't tell you if it was actually five minutes or fifteen. 🕰️
It’s nowhere near the weird, frantic energy of Hic-Cups the Champ, but it has that same feeling of people trying to make a movie without quite enough pieces to make the puzzle fit.
The writing by Nazim Hikmet is interesting, if only because you can see him trying to inject a bit of soul into what is otherwise a pretty thin story about a guy who lies to people for money. It’s a bit sadder than I expected.
It isn't as polished as Little Lord Fauntleroy, but it’s got a weird, jagged edge to it. I didn't love it, but I didn't turn it off either. Sometimes that’s the best you can ask for on a rainy Tuesday.