Old Istanbul of winding alleyways and back streets, with its vibrant lifestyle of sidewalk cafes and crowded restaurants, with its quaint architecture nestled among historical monuments, comes to life like a nostalgic dream in Ferzan Ozpetek's The Turkish Bath.
The writer-director, raised in Istanbul but currently living in Rome, goes a step further by blending the two cultures in his debut feature film as though spiritual enrichment comes from where you most feel at home - or so the protagonist Francesco (Alessandro Gassman) discovers upon a journey back to his roots. And the traditional hamam, or Turkish bath, the place where people gather to resolve their personal relationships and problems, provides an appropriate setting in this search to discover the self.
This open-ended, realistic approach to the theme comes partially from Ozpetek's own background as a correspondent for Turkish newspapers and as assistant director to Julien Beck at the Living Theater and to Italian filmmaker Ricky Tognazzi on Ultrà and The Escort.
Francesco, married to Marta (Francesca d'Aloja) for ten years, lives a comfortable but staid existence as the co-owner of an applied arts workshop in Rome. He's so buried in his work that he doesn't notice that his outgoing wife is having an affair with his business partner. One day, upon being informed by the Turkish embassy that he's inherited a hamam from a deceased aunt, Francesco decides to return to Istanbul to settle the affair as soon as possible. There, he discovers that the hamam is not only in disrepair, but that his aunt had lived a adventurous and sensually exciting life over the past 30 years. So Francesco decides to stay on for a while in Istanbul to restore the hamam. and, in doing so, transforms his life. Ron Holloway
Prod co: Sorpasso Film, Promete Film, Asbrell Productions
Prods: Marco Risi, Maurizio Tedesco, Aldo Sambrell, Cengiz Ergun
Dir: Ferzan Ozpetek.
Scr: Stefano Tummolini, Ferzan Ozpetek
Ph: Pasquale Mari
Art dir: Virginia Vianello, Mustafa Ziya Ulkenciler
Ed: Mauro Bonanni
Cast: Alessandro Gassman, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi, Halil Ergun
Running time: 95 mins.
Int sales: Sacis
