Searching for a blockbuster: Gallipoli on film

By Burcu Arik

ISTANBUL

 The Ottoman victory at the Battle of Canakkale in 1915 – arguably one of the biggest turning points in Turkish history – is being commemorated this week across the country.

The death and suffering at Gelibolu (also known as Gallipoli) has inspired many movies and dramas, but unusually for one of the biggest military successes in Turkish history, domestic films about the struggle have not done as well as expected at the box office.

A massive production released this week – Ozhan’s Eren’s epic "Son Mektup" (The Last Letter) – aims to change the strange scenario by which films shot in the West about an Allied defeat are better known than films by the winning side.

"Gallipoli-themed movies are not blockbusters because the Turkish cinema sector is not good at war movies. For a historical movie, you need more money," says Eren, a prominent director and producer also known for the award-winning historical movies "Listen from Ney" and "120."

"When you attempt to make an expensive movie with a small amount of money, the result will not come out well," Eren says.

The Last Letter, set during the Battle of Canakkale in 1915, tells the story of a young Turkish pilot and a nurse who fall in love while rescuing and attempting to shelter a young orphan boy amid the chaos of the war.

It is one of the most expensive films shot in Turkey.

There is no lack of Turkish films about the war. Since well-known Turkish director Ertem Egilmez's "A Nation Awakens" in 1966, there has been surge of domestic movies on the campaign as well as documentaries.

"Canakkale 1915" which was adapted from the book “Dirilis” (Resurrection) by Turkish writer Turgut Ozakman, "Canakkale Cocuklari” (Children of Gallipoli) by director Sinan Cetin, Levent Akcay's "Sari Siyah" (Yellow Black) and Serdar Akar's "Canakkale: Yolun Sonu" (Canakkale: The End of the Road)... all of them tried to portray the war.

But Turkish voices at home say that – despite the quality of domestic offerings – it is Hollywood’s depiction of the war which is better known.

According to Eren, reflecting this epic as realistically as possible demands a big budget.

"The reason Turkish movies lag behind the threshold of one-million audiences is not the number of the Gallipoli movies," says Eren.

Serdar Akbiyik, a film critic for Turkish daily Star newspaper for 10 years, says that the budget is the “A-to-Z” of a movie: "It determines the cast, all the production processes."

Akbiyik – who also presents a popular cinema talk show with film critic Alper Turgut – points out that Gallipoli-themed movies are historical period dramas which require a huge budget.

"We were destined to lose from the beginning," he claims.

According to Box Office Turkey, Gallipoli offerings have not exceeded the one-million audience figure domestically, except for Russell Crowe's “The Water Diviner” last year.

The Water Diviner, which was shown in Turkey in 2014, tells the story of a New Zealand father who searches for his two sons four years after they go missing in Gallipoli.

Nevertheless, Turkish cinema has made huge strides since 2004 when the culture ministry began substantially supporting films, prompting dramatically increased budgets.

The ministry has doubled its budget for the film industry on the occasion of Turkish cinema’s 100th anniversary, according to officials. The department gave almost 27 million Turkish liras ($12 million) for films and documentaries in 2014.

However, for war movies, efforts have remained insufficient.

Akbiyik says he has watched all the Turkish depictions of the Gallipoli campaign; "But I have to say that they are generally simple due to a lack of budget.”

The critic thinks cultural factors also come into play: "Hollywood has ignored Gallipoli because it resulted in a Turkish victory."

"The campaign caused the extension of the WWI and many bad results for the Allied countries. Hollywood does not like to depict these kind of wars. It likes historical events which praise and hail Western society," Akbiyik claims.

Eastern cinema often criticizes the U.S. film industry for making Western propaganda, ignoring the wars that Western society lost or emphasizing only the evil nature of the enemy while showing the sacrifice of its own forces.

However, in recent years, Hollywood has been trying to change this image by creating a fairer depiction of war for both sides or just focusing on universal suffering caused by violence.

Claiming that outside movies are better than the domestic Gallipoli offerings, Akbiyik says: "If we have to compare, we should accept that the foreigners are the best."

"So far, there have been two successful movies depicting the war and both are Australian: Mel Gibson's 'Gallipoli' and Russell Crowe's 'The Water Diviner',” he says.

Akbiyik says: "The Water Diviner has a special place for Turkey in terms of objectivity. For the first time, a Hollywood movie has depicted Turkey properly and objectively."

Stating that Australians and New Zealanders have a significant role in promoting the campaign, Akbiyik says that despite their loss at Gallipoli, these two countries have been more successful than Turks in promoting the epic to the whole world.

"Sometimes we have to ask: 'If the Anzacs had not come to fight in Gallipoli, what would have happened?’" Akbiyik says.

Bur for Eren – director of The Last Letter – he has tried to make a film which reflects the Turkish perspective on the war.

Describing his movie as "a tragedy of a devoted generation," Eren says: "The Gallipoli Campaign is a sad story of a generation who left their family, loved ones and future behind."

Stating that he is not motivated by the financial demands of the box office, Eren – who attended the 100th anniversary gathering in Canakkale, western Turkey earlier this week – says that there were two main reasons for him to shoot Last Letter.

"Firstly, I wanted to recall the cornerstones of the Turkish way of life that we are forgetting. The new generation does not know the meaning of self-sacrifice and fidelity."

"Secondly, I aimed to show the suffering of those people, both the soldiers and civilians. The Gallipoli Campaign is more than just a Turkish victory in WWI, it is an epic for all nations who fought in and it deserves more attention," he says.