''The White Angel'' ( tr, Beyaz Melek) is a 2007 Turkish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

, written and directed by Mahsun Kırmızıgül, which follows the story of two Eastern youths who find themselves in a rest home after their father comes down with cancer. The film, which went on general release across Turkey on , won the Remi Award at the 41st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and was the second highest-grossing Turkish film of 2007.

Plot

Ali and Reşat bring their father Ahmet who is suffering from brain cancer for

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

treatment in Istanbul. Unable to bear the treatment and thinking himself to be a burden, Ahmet runs away from the hospital and manages to reach a home for elders. The residents believe him to be abandoned by his children and take him in. Ali and Reşat find him but decide to let him stay when they see that he is happy there. They learn the stories and backgrounds of each of the elders. Two of them, Yaşar and Nebahat have fallen in love and plan to get married. Ahmet arrangers for a big wedding and invites them to his home village in Diyarbakır for their honeymoon together with all the other elders.

Cast

* Mahsun Kırmızıgül - Ali * Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu - Ahmet *

Yıldız Kenter Ayşe Yıldız Kenter (11 October 1928 – 17 November 2019) was a Turkish actress and lecturer, who was of English descent from her maternal side. Kenter was also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Early years Ayşe Yıldız Kenter was born to diplo ...

- Melek *

Nejat Uygur Nejat Günhan Uygur (10 August 1927 – 18 November 2013) was a Turkish actor and comedian. Early years Nejat Uygur was born on 10 August 1927 as the second of three children to an officer father and teacher mother. He acted on stage alre ...

- Gazi Cemal * Yavuz Bingöl - Hıdır *

Erol Günaydın Erol Günaydın (16 April 1933 – 15 October 2012) was a Turkish theater and film actor, as well as a renowned showman famous particularly for his portrayal of Nasreddin Hoca and his performances in the traditional Turkish meddah ( one ma ...

- Commander Vahit *

Sarp Apak Kerim Sarp Apak (born 11 November 1981) is a Turkish actor. Early life Apak was born and raised in Diyarbakır until the age of five, before moving with his family to Bursa. His parents were from Adana and Antakya. He later studied at the Bursa ...

- Reşat *

Zeynep Tokuş Zeynep Tokuş (born 1977) is a Turkish actress and former beauty pageant winner. In 2007, she won the title of the TV show Turkish version of ''Dancing on Ice''. Biography Tokuş was educated in graphic design at the Bilkent University in Ankar ...

- Nazlı * Toron Karacaoğlu - Yorgo * Salih Kalyon - Hacı *

Cezmi Baskın Cezmi Baskın (born 11 March 1949) is a Turkish actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films since the 1970s. Selected filmography References External links * 1949 births Living people Turkish male film actors Male actors from ...

- Sabri * Lale Belkıs - Nebahat] * Ali Sürmeli - Zeki * Tomris Oğuzalp - Suzan *

Fırat Tanış Fırat Tanış (born 5 May 1975) is a Turkish actor and musician. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1995. He is of Turkish Meskhetian ancestry.https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/aile/firat-tanis-ile-dopdolu-bir-roportaj-403677 He played a ...

- Musa * Fadik Sevin Atasoy - Hatice * Necmi Yapıcı - Ömer * Erol Demiröz - Laz İlhan * Cihat Tamer - Huzurevi Müdürü Tayyar * Nurşim Demir - Bakıcı * Tanju Tuncel - Perihan * Hüseyin Avni Danyal - Selim * Lale Tancı - Sultan Hemşire * Gazanfer Özcan - Palyaço *

Emel Sayın Emel Sayın (born 20 November 1945) is a Turkish singer and actress. Life She was born in Şarkışla district of Sivas Province on 20 November 1945, to an Albanian father who immigrated from Skopje, and a mother from Mardin. Her parents moved ...

- Herself * Suna Selen - Mızgin * Bilge Zobu - Yaşar Hoca

Reception

Reviews

'' Today's Zaman'' reviewer M. Nedim Hazar states that the film contains, ''the East-West contradiction and a comparison of values. It brings the dominating force of the West -- the mind -- and that of the East -- the heart - face to face,'' but ''doesn't take a folkloric approach to the East-West comparison as in Yılmaz Erdoğan's movies. Apart from this, it still falls into the marshland of exaggerated caricature-ization which seems to have "worked into the veins" of the celebrities who star in the film. Moviegoers might be fond of this, but it is still an important setback for a movie.'' He concludes it is a film, ''that will shock -- in a positive sense -- those whose expectations for the film are very low because of Kırmızıgül. It's also a movie that is very "presentable," whose language and message is very clear. In addition, it contains as much laughter and tears as any Yeşilçam movie does. It should be watched and applauded as a first film of a first-time director.''.

Awards

*41st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival (Huston): Remi Award.