''Journey of Hope'' (german: Reise der Hoffnung; tr, Umuda yolculuk) is a 1990 film directed by

Xavier Koller Xavier Koller (born 1944, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a Swiss film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his work on the Disney live action film '' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'', an adventure historical fiction film based on the life of Squa ...

. It tells the story of a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

family from Turkey trying to illegally emigrate to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, a country they know only from a

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

. The film is a co-production between companies in

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 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The film won the 1990

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. The film was submitted to the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

(Los Angeles, USA) by the Swiss Government, resulting in the second Oscar win ever for Switzerland.

Plot

In a village in eastern Turkey, tales of the economic success of Turks in Switzerland inspire Haydar to convince his wife Meryem that they must go. He sells their livestock and small plot of land in exchange for passage for two. He wants to leave their seven children in the care of the eldest and his parents; his father advises him to take one son to be educated in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, as economic insurance. The three set off for

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, ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and

, stowing away on a ship. At

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, they pay the rest of their money to unprincipled men who abandon them at an Alpine pass before a blizzard. Father and son are separated from Meryem. Will anyone reach the land of promise?

Cast

Necmettin Çobanoglu Necmettin is the Turkish version of the Arabic name Najm al-Din. It may refer to: *Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011), Turkish politician *Necmettin Imac (born 1987), Dutch footballer *Necmettin Karaduman (born 1927), Turkish politician and former pa ...

: Haydar Sener *

Nur Sürer Nur Sürer (born 21 June 1954) is a Turkish actress. Her debut role was in ''Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde'', directed by Erden Kiral. She is known for her more politically themed roles, notably with regard to prison conditions and women's right ...

: Meryem *

Emin Sivas Emin may refer to: As a name * Emin (given name) * Emin (surname) Places * Emin County, county in Xinjiang, China * Emin Minaret, the tallest minaret in China * Emin Valley, on the borders of China and Kazakhstan * Emin or Emil River, in Emi ...

: Mehmet Ali *

Yaman Okay Yaman Okay (1951 – 19 February 1993) was a Turkish actor. He won the 1981 Golden Orange Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' On Fertile Lands''. Okay was married since 1984 to actress and screenwriter Meral Okay. He died ...

: Turkmen * Erdinc Akbas: Adama *

Mathias Gnädinger Mathias Gnädinger (25 March 1941 – 3 April 2015) was a Swiss stage and film actor. Career Initially a typesetter and typographer, Gnädinger began his acting training at the ''Bühnenstudio Zürich'' (now part of the Zurich University of ...

: Ramser *

Dietmar Schönherr Dietmar Otto Schönherr (; 17 May 1926 – 18 July 2014) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1944 and 2014. He was famous for playing the role of Major Cliff Allister McLane in the German science fiction series '' Rau ...

: Massimo * Andrea Zogg: Christen * Erdal Merdan: Aldemir

References

External links

* * * {{AcademyAwardBestForeignLanguageFilm 1981–2000 1990 films Swiss German-language films 1990s Turkish-language films 1990 drama films British drama films Swiss drama films Turkish drama films Films about immigration Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Films shot in Turkey Turkish multilingual films Films directed by Xavier Koller 1990 multilingual films 1990s British films