Oyun (2005) Online

Pelin Esmer's documentary movie is full of fun, reality and wisdom. Non-educated (not ignorant just non educated) but very wise 9 women and their passion of 'to be able to change something'. Being 'real' makes the movie very powerful. Pelin Esmer had made a simple movie with low opportunities but created a movie just tastes like your grandma's cookies. Something familiar, something close to you even if you'll never been to a village. This is the documentary of hope, wisdom and ambition. This is the story of an idealist teacher. This is the story of wise and intelligent women. Bravo to these women! Bravo to that teacher! And..at least and the most..BRAVO Pelin Esmer!

This is a debut feature length documentary by 33-year-old Pelin Esmer, a Turkish student of sociology that was shown at the recently concluded Dubai International Film Festival. Pelin captures the dream and persistence of a group of village women in the Taurus mountains who stage and act in play as a symbol of expressing their creative urges to communicate to the larger village community. It is a woman's film about women. It captures faithfully the reactions of the male community and the anxieties of the women who act both the male and female roles that portray realistic situations they have endured in the past.

This is not a unique experiment. A brilliant French woman director Ariane Mnouchkine did a similar experiment way back in 1974 for a fascinating documentary called "1789." For Ariane, too, it was a debut. Only Ariane's product was far superior.

Why do I find Pelin's documentary strange? For a purist, the documentary camera ought to capture candid material. While Pelin's film captures the mood and the aspirations of the village women, I cannot but feel that I am watching a staged enactment off-stage where the women have been coached to say what they say. The documentation lacks the feel of an impromptu reaction. The whole film seems to have been planned meticulously and then recorded. Finally, it is not the women who write the script, but a male educationist who puts the play together. The director of the play is never identified--only the lead motivator is.

While Pelin has made a film that is interesting, I would be cautious about deciding how much of the document is candid and how much is staged.

I adored 'Oyun'. This movie is about the daily lives of women peasants and their goal to stage a play with the director of the village school. Among the things they have to do in the routine of their daily lives, they create time for the rehearsals and commit themselves to the play. It's an experience both for these women and their families who never witnessed a mom's/wife's asking for something only for herself! The story is not something unheard of, but the way these women act are so natural that at some point you feel like they forgot the cameras being there. Pelin Esmer seems like she was able to both direct them and be out of their sight at the same time. I saw this movie in Istanbul Film Festival when it was screened for the first time and almost the whole village was there! How happy and proud they were, you can't imagine. Unfortunately, to enjoy this documentary throughly you must be either Turkish or someone who witnessed the rural life in Turkey. You have to have an idea about these women and the life they lead.They are so much as they are in 'Oyun' that I've never seen a real actor act that real!