THE SERPENT’S TALE

THE SERPENT’S TALE (KARANLIK SULAR) , 1994

Turkey | 35 mm , Colour , 83’ |

Director: Kutluğ Ataman

Cast: Gönen Bozbey, Metin Uygun, Daniel Chace, Eric Pio, Haluk Kurdoğlu, Tülin Oral, Semiha Berksoy, Cevat Kurtuluş, Beste Çınarcı

The conquest of Istanbul by the Turks has been a subject matter for many Yeşilçam films, but Aydın Arakon’s 1951 film Istanbul’un Fethi is the most assured and interesting among them considering the time and the circumstances it was filmed in. It’s possible to see many actual locations, for example the Great Walls of Istanbul in 1950s, and even a scene that feels like it was shot in Hagia Sophia. Like many other films about Istanbul, Istanbul’un Fethi is a film about mistrust and doubt. Its dominant theme is the question whether or not Halil Pasha of Çandar has cooperated with Byzantines, hence he is the villain. In addition to the suspicion it harbours for “the traitors among us”, the film seems to be too eager to believe in the help provided to Ottomans by the Byzantines, who “prefer to see the Turkish turban instead of the Latin coif” in Constantinople. Add on the beautiful Byzantine girls who fall for Ottomans, titillating scenes of whipping, gallant warriors who are bosom buddies, taverns, Mehmet the Conquerer roaring “what do you say, Pasha?”, Hasan of Ulubat, interesting use of marionettes in some scenes, and of course the close-up shots of ships being transported on land… It can be said that from Istanbul’un Fethi to 1964’s Gurbet Kuşları / Birds of Foreign Land and beyond, in which Hüseyin Baradan famously vows to conquer Istanbul as he looks at the city from the port of Haydarpaşa, we are still in the same film. Thus, this film contains the first articulation of the uneasiness in the relationship between the city and those who repeatedly aspired and owned it from the time of the Conquest to the modern day.
Kutluğ Ataman’s first feature film Karanlık Sular, which provides the perfect reverse echo to Istanbul’un Fethi, is one of the most interesting of films about the Istanbul uneasiness. It is a film noir horror fantasy which shows that Istanbul is comprised of many different, layer upon layer of Istanbuls–from Byzantines to American spies disguised as real estate brokers, from poisoned manuscripts to melancholy vampires who watch the waters of the Bosphorus. It’s a film about the impossibility of capturing a city as old as Istanbul. In fact, it’s a film about people getting captured by the city. It’s going to be an interesting experience for all kinds of filmgoers, whether Istanbulites or not, to watch these two films which gained cult status over the years.

Fatih Özgüven