THE QUAY OF THE LONELY ONES

THE QUAY OF THE LONELY ONES (YALNIZLAR RIHTIMI), 1959

Turkey | DVD, Black & White, 113’ | Turkish with English subtitlesDirector: Lütfi Akad
Cast: Sadri Alışık, Çolpan İlhan, Turgut Özatay, Melahat İçli

Captain Rıdvan is a lonely man who finds peace in the harbors he visits, until he meets Countess Güner who lives in the care of Ali, a bar owner. The latter will not easily let go of Güner, who is a desperate character. The setting, which shows seedy places in a foggy Istanbul, corresponds to the lonely and melancholic state of mind of these characters, who find themselves mired in a pessimistic world. The film’s script was written by Atilla İlhan and is accompanied by the accordion and tango. Although it is evocative of the French poetic realism movement, it is actually one of the rare examples of Turkish film noir.