''120'' is a 2008 Turkish

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Murat Saraçoğlu Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsewhe ...

and Özhan Eren based on the true story of 120 children who died in 1915 carrying ammunition for the

Battle of Sarikamish The Battle of Sarikamish (''Sarighamishi chakatamart''), russian: Сражение при Сарыкамыше; tr, Sarıkamış Harekatı, lit=''Operation Sarıkamış'' was an engagement between the Russian and Ottoman empires during World W ...

against the Russians during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The film went on general release across Turkey on and is one of the highest grossing

Turkish films of 2008 A list of films produced by the Turkish film industry in Turkey in 2008. Highest-grossing films Released films References {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkish Films Of 2008 2008 Turkey Films A film also called a movie, motion pictu ...

Production

Writer, producer and co-director Özhan Eren, an expert on the

Caucasus Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dicta ...

in World War I, who came across the story of the 120 boys while doing the research for his bestselling '' The Road to Sarıkamış'' ( tr, Sarıkamış'a Giden Yol), spent three years preparation for the film. The film, which received a record amount of support from the

Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism The Ministry of Culture and Tourism ( tr, Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı) is a government ministry of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for culture and tourism affairs in Turkey. Revolving fund management of the ministry is carried by DÖSİ ...

, was shot over two years in harsh conditions on location in

Safranbolu Safranbolu () is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is about 9 km north of the city of Karabük, north of Ankara and about 100 km south of the Black Sea coast. The town's historic names in Gr ...

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. When heavy snow, expected in Van for the winter settings of the film, failed to arrive, 20 trucks, two loaders and 30 staff members had to be laid on to bring 300 tons of snow from Çaldıran to Van for several scenes.

Plot

During the

, the Ottoman army runs out of ammunition and appeals for help to the people of Van, who happen to have supplies. However, the First World War is on and all the men are fighting at the four corners of the empire and therefore can not respond to the appeal. The young children of Van want to do something and when the principal of a school, who has lost a son in the war, suggests that they transport ammunition, 120 young boys aged 12 to 17 volunteer and take to the road. The movie tells the true story of the 120 boys and their sisters and mothers left behind, who wait for their return.

Cast

* Ozge Ozberk * Burak Sergen * Cansel Elcin

Release

The film went on general release, with what Emrah Güler described as, ''an aggressive (and unnecessarily nationalistic) marketing campaign'', in 179 screens across Turkey on at number one in the Turkish box office with an opening weekend gross of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

376,812. The film had a gala screening in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

on before going on general release in 32 screens across Germany on at number 17 in the German box office with an opening weekend gross of

53,763. The film was re-released, to coincide with August 30 Victory Day ( tr, Zafer Bayramı) celebrations, in 32 screens across Turkey on at number thirteen in the Turkish box office with an opening weekend gross of

23,071.

Reception

Box office

The film was in the Turkish box office charts for 41 weeks and is the 9th highest-grossing Turkish film of 2008 with a total nationwide gross of

3,289,480.

Reviews

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:120 (Film) 2008 films World War I films set in the Middle East Films set in Turkey Turkish war films 2000s war films 2000s Turkish-language films