Turkish filmmaker Tolga Örnek follows the success of historically documentaries "Hittites" and "Gallipoli" with this curious but compelling docudrama recreation of the race by the engineers of the State Railroad Directorate at Eskişehir, following the 1961 coup d'état by Cemal Gursel, to build the first Turkish automobile.
Haluk Bilginer is resplendent as the idealistic and obsessive head of the project whose passion seems to single-handedly drive the project whilst Taner Birsel shines as the strongest member of a supporting cast that includes Vahide Gördüm, Seçil Mutlu, and a wonderful turn from Sait Genay as Cemal Gursel himself.
The director along with fellow screenwriter Murat Disli use a simple yet successful procedural approach to great effect to follow the production of the "Devrim" car from its inception to it's bittersweet final test whilst never losing track of the fascinating characters behind its creation in a surprisingly moving story.
In Turkey no success is left unpunished.
Haluk Bilginer is resplendent as the idealistic and obsessive head of the project whose passion seems to single-handedly drive the project whilst Taner Birsel shines as the strongest member of a supporting cast that includes Vahide Gördüm, Seçil Mutlu, and a wonderful turn from Sait Genay as Cemal Gursel himself.
The director along with fellow screenwriter Murat Disli use a simple yet successful procedural approach to great effect to follow the production of the "Devrim" car from its inception to it's bittersweet final test whilst never losing track of the fascinating characters behind its creation in a surprisingly moving story.
In Turkey no success is left unpunished.