''Love, Bitter'' ( tr, Acı Aşk) is a 2009 Turkish drama film co-produced and directed by A. Taner Elhan, about a literature professor caught in a dangerous love quadrangle. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , was screened in competition at the

29th International Istanbul Film Festival The 29th International Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, 29. Uluslararası İstanbul Film Festivali) was a film festival held in Istanbul, Turkey, which ran from April 3 to 18, 2010. More than 200 films were screened in 23 categories at seven movie the ...

Production

The film was shot in 30 days beginning on at the Film Sokağı Studios and on location in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

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 ...

Plot

Orhan, who works as a literature professor at a university in Eskisehir (a city in Central Anatolia), unexpectedly ends his relationship with Ayşe whom he was planning to marry, and comes to Istanbul where he meets Oya. After living possibly the happiest days of his life with Oya, who is a photographer, Orhan finds himself in the midst of a challenging love triangle as a result of the horrible things they encounter the first days of their marriage. Meanwhile, his new student Seda, pulls Orhan towards a point of no return. Tough days are ahead for Orhan whose life is turned upside down, torn between three women.

Release

General release

The film opened on general release in 74 screens across Turkey on at number six in the Turkish box office chart 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 ...

220,273.

Festival screenings

(April 3–18, 2010)

Reception

Box office

The film was in the Turkish box office charts for eight weeks and has made a total gross of

778,966.

Reviews

Emrah Güler, writing in ''

Hürriyet Daily News The ''Hürriyet Daily News'', formerly ''Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review'' and ''Turkish Daily News'', is the oldest current English-language daily in Turkey, founded in 1961. The paper was bought by the Doğan Media Group in 2001 and ...

'', describes the film as, "similar to last week’s release of novelist-cum-filmmaker Tuna Kiremitçi's ''Adını Sen Koy'' (You Name It)", and states that, "this film portrays another love triangle of the upper-middle class and is set in Eskişehir." He concludes that, "the trailer promises lame a dialog ", and he recommends the film to, "those who get a kick out of cardboard characters and far-from-subtle cliché romances as found in a recent avalanche of Turkish TV series."

References

External links

* * * {{tcmdb title, 784496, Aci ask 2009 films 2009 drama films Films set in Turkey Turkish black comedy films