People who had a good history of film history may be conscious of their consciousness. Years after the Dersim Massacre, we see the effect of the massacre on an old woman. He is after a Kurdish lament associated with this event and his adventures on the road. Kurdish laments are good because their stories are bad.
3 Reviews
A graffiti in the movie caught my attention, 'All states are terrorists.'
REXNE29 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Amazing "Oriental Road Movie"
irmi_el13 October 2017
It was a great pleasure for me to see ZER at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. What did I see?
I saw a profound movie, slowly told (my thoughts had time to develop during watching and listening), that has reached my heart and soul with his story, pictures, dialogues, music and with his humor. I saw a tribute to the Kurdish people, their culture, their traditions, their country. I saw a passionate plea against forgetting and non-talking. I saw, that pain can people hurt so much, that they are not able to talk about for their whole life. I saw a young man on the way to his roots, to himself. And I saw a story about an almost magical-like relationship between two people (Jan and his grandmother), who do not really know each other, but are suddenly so close.
Kazim Öz chose actors, who were able to give soul to the story of ZER: First of all Nik Xhelilaj as Jan (I think, he couldn't find a better one for this character: He has a kind of magical charisma, he captivates the spectator with his eyes and with his voice. He takes you by the hand - and you travel with him on his way to ZER in your mind), but also Güler Ökten as grandmother and all the other authentic actors, who embody the people Jan meets in his search. In the mountains of Kurdistan, ZER, this "oriental road movie" has almost documentary character.
I saw a profound movie, slowly told (my thoughts had time to develop during watching and listening), that has reached my heart and soul with his story, pictures, dialogues, music and with his humor. I saw a tribute to the Kurdish people, their culture, their traditions, their country. I saw a passionate plea against forgetting and non-talking. I saw, that pain can people hurt so much, that they are not able to talk about for their whole life. I saw a young man on the way to his roots, to himself. And I saw a story about an almost magical-like relationship between two people (Jan and his grandmother), who do not really know each other, but are suddenly so close.
Kazim Öz chose actors, who were able to give soul to the story of ZER: First of all Nik Xhelilaj as Jan (I think, he couldn't find a better one for this character: He has a kind of magical charisma, he captivates the spectator with his eyes and with his voice. He takes you by the hand - and you travel with him on his way to ZER in your mind), but also Güler Ökten as grandmother and all the other authentic actors, who embody the people Jan meets in his search. In the mountains of Kurdistan, ZER, this "oriental road movie" has almost documentary character.
Journey into Roots: A search for a song
fraz_bd716 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Zer is a young man's journey into his roots, an exploration of a song originated in a village removed from history.
Jan, a young American with Turkish heritage, is greatly moved by a Kurdish folk song sung by his grandmother before death. After returning to Turkey to bury her, he is shunned off by his family whenever he asks about that song. Finally getting the initial clue from his aunt, Jan starts his journey into the origin of the song, the village of his grandmother.
The journey from the city to village regions was like returning to the past. In his journey he sees undue military presence, listens to old tales and songs, participates in a wedding, has a unspoken moment with a lovely young girl - all of which may or may not resemble the old times. Through a sequence of clues he advances towards the song origin, but the song however makes people sensitive whenever brought up. His journey finally brings him up to the village Hozat, only to see a lake only. In the end he dives in it to have a moment of underwater hallucination of the village in the old times, which was submerged under water in 1938 and its people massacred by the Ottoman military.
The narrative is similar to Loving Vincent (2017), as in the story being told through a 3rd person. Also similar was Gloomy Sunday (1999), being about a song. The film has some 1st person camera angles (not 3rd person), which is very rare to see. The cinematography is beautiful in an unnerving way. The ending sequence is a moment to remember in film experiences.
Jan, a young American with Turkish heritage, is greatly moved by a Kurdish folk song sung by his grandmother before death. After returning to Turkey to bury her, he is shunned off by his family whenever he asks about that song. Finally getting the initial clue from his aunt, Jan starts his journey into the origin of the song, the village of his grandmother.
The journey from the city to village regions was like returning to the past. In his journey he sees undue military presence, listens to old tales and songs, participates in a wedding, has a unspoken moment with a lovely young girl - all of which may or may not resemble the old times. Through a sequence of clues he advances towards the song origin, but the song however makes people sensitive whenever brought up. His journey finally brings him up to the village Hozat, only to see a lake only. In the end he dives in it to have a moment of underwater hallucination of the village in the old times, which was submerged under water in 1938 and its people massacred by the Ottoman military.
The narrative is similar to Loving Vincent (2017), as in the story being told through a 3rd person. Also similar was Gloomy Sunday (1999), being about a song. The film has some 1st person camera angles (not 3rd person), which is very rare to see. The cinematography is beautiful in an unnerving way. The ending sequence is a moment to remember in film experiences.
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