An Italian man named Francesco inherits am old Turkish bath from his aunt and travels to Turkey to sell it. The ensuing story deals with his involvement with the bath, with the community of people in its milieu, and especially an attractive young cousin Mehmet who stirs his sexual ambivalence in the men's world of the "hamam" (the bath), and the triangle completed by his wife Marta who has her own issues.
I found the earlier parts of the movie to be slow developing, picking up "steam" as the main character begins to discover himself in the culture of the hamam. The film seems true to Turkish city culture from my limited observations after two trips there. The cinematography seems unnecessarily dark and dingy in places where this wasn't needed for effect. The English subtitles show generally good, clear form (not knowing the original languages I can't vouch for their accuracy), although there is a mixture of Italian and Turkish spoken, with some of the characters speaking only one or the other and not understanding each other: all that isn't clear to us, because we just have the English translation in the same typeset.
This film will be mildly interesting if you like the subject matter, and a number of reviewers have appreciated its subtlety and treatment of a changing culture. For me, I'm glad I saw it, but a masterpiece it's not. I'm rating it a 5.
I found the earlier parts of the movie to be slow developing, picking up "steam" as the main character begins to discover himself in the culture of the hamam. The film seems true to Turkish city culture from my limited observations after two trips there. The cinematography seems unnecessarily dark and dingy in places where this wasn't needed for effect. The English subtitles show generally good, clear form (not knowing the original languages I can't vouch for their accuracy), although there is a mixture of Italian and Turkish spoken, with some of the characters speaking only one or the other and not understanding each other: all that isn't clear to us, because we just have the English translation in the same typeset.
This film will be mildly interesting if you like the subject matter, and a number of reviewers have appreciated its subtlety and treatment of a changing culture. For me, I'm glad I saw it, but a masterpiece it's not. I'm rating it a 5.