''Pains of Autumn'' () is a 2009 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, directed by

Tomris Giritlioğlu Tomris Giritlioğlu (1957 – 23 September 2024) was a Turkish film director and producer, who directed the 1999 film '' Mrs. Salkım's Diamonds''. Early life and education Giritlioğlu was born in 1957 in Kadınhanı, Konya, and educated at ...

, based on the novel by

Yılmaz Karakoyunlu Yılmaz Karakoyunlu (26 April 1936 – 11 February 2024) was a Turkish writer and politician. He served as minister of state of Turkey from 2001 to 2002. Born on 26 April 1936, Karakoyunlu died on 11 February 2024, at the age of 87. He was burie ...

. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , was one of the highest-grossing

Turkish films of 2009 A list of films produced by the Turkish film industry in Turkey in 2009. Highest-grossing films Released films January – June July – December See also * 2009 in Turkey References {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkish Films Of 2 ...

Plot

The story is set in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, during the

Pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

of September 1955. Behçet (Murat Yildirim) is the only son of a father, in whom the government and the

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

take a close interest due to his strong influence in

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

. While he is working as an assistant researcher in the faculty of law in Istanbul, he falls under the sway of the extreme

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

movement as a result of his upbringing and the influential

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...

of his father. The only thing that causes Behçet to stumble on his convictions is Elena, a woman he secretly observes from his apartment. She is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

, who has been exploited by her grandmother since her mother left them. Elena is aware that she is being observed by Behçet and falls in love with him. They get close to each other which does not please Behçet's father and his

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. The death of Behçet's friend Suat and the role that his father plays with the leaders of the party to exterminate the opposition and even the tolerated voices force Behçet to reconsider his political affiliation. During the

Istanbul pogrom The Istanbul pogrom, also known as the Istanbul riots, were a series of state-sponsored anti-Greek mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The pogrom was orchestrated by the governing Democrat ...

, riots which were organized by Turkish mob attacks directed at Istanbul's Greek minority, Behçet finds Elena dead after being hit by an activist. He takes her and remembers the words she said while lying on the bed in her apartment.

Cast

* Murat Yıldırım - Behçet *

Okan Yalabık Okan Yalabık (born 13 December 1978) is a Turkish actor. He graduated theater at Istanbul University State Conservatory and master of Film and Drama in Kadir Has University. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2001. Life and career ...

- Suat *

Beren Saat Beren Saat (; born 26 February 1984) is a Turkish actress. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at Başkent University, she participated in the acting competi ...

- Elena *

Belçim Bilgin Belçim Bilgin (born 31 January 1983) is a Turkish actress from Turkey. Life She was born in Ankara, Turkey on 31 January 1983. She is the great grand niece of Sheikh Said who is known for the Sheikh Said Rebellion. According to her statemen ...

- Nemika *

Umut Kurt Umut is a Turkish gender neutral given name meaning ''hope''. Etymology Umut comes from the Turkish word umut or ummak, which both derive from the Proto-Turkic ''*um-'', meaning "hope". It is cognate with the Karakhanid ''um-'' "to ask fo ...

- Ferit * Zeliha Berksoy - Grandmother * Emir Faruk Uğurcan - Ali

Production

Production for the film, originally planned for 2002, commenced on 1 June 2008. The film was shot on location in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from 3 August - 29 September 2008. Post production was completed on 23 January 2009.

Release

The film opened in 180 screens across Turkey on at number one in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $555,543.

Reception

Box office

The film was the sixth highest grossing Turkish film of 2009 and has made a total worldwide gross of $3,388,636.

Public controversy

Television talk shows and newspapers have covered both the film and the discussion of the events on which it is based. Its makers say the public debate is a result of an easing of curbs on freedom of expression accompanying Turkey's drive to meet European Union membership standards. ''This film couldn't have been made 10 years ago,'' screenwriter Etyen Mahçupyan told ''Today's Zaman'', ''Though the laws on the books still limit free speech, the reality is there's less and less that can't be criticized.'' ''September 6–7 was our Kristallnacht,'' Rev.

Dositheos Anagnostopulous Dositheus (; , ''Dōsítheos'') is a Greek masculine given name, and it may refer to: * Dositheos (Samaritan) (fl. 1st century), Gnostic * Dositheus Magister (fl. 4th century), Roman grammarian and jurist * Dositheus of Gaza (fl. 6th century), monk ...

, a spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul said, ''The chances of something like this happening again are slim, because Turkish youth today are more critical in their thinking. But to be sure, they need to learn that this catastrophe occurred, that's why the film is important.'' ''A film like this might be just a film in another country,'' Mahçupyan continued, ''because there's been a vacuum and this issue was never discussed, the film now fulfils an important mission.'' Yet, according to the Greek perspective, the film does not depict the events of September 1955 in their actual historic depth, not to mention the portrayal of the main Greek character as a prostitute sold off by her family, totally contrasting the Greek-envisioned social reality of the Greek community of the city, according to contemporary Greeks of Greece, which quite reflects the Turkish views over their non-Muslim neighbours, particularly the women. The film remains still highly controversial for being an attempt to white-wash the "responsibilities" of the Turkish people pretending it was all down to a political manipulation when this is a pogrom in which tens of thousands of Turkish citizens took part and which forced the majority of the Greek community to leave Istanbul.

External links

* for the film *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pains of Autumn 2009 films 2009 drama films 2000s political films Turkish drama films 2000s Turkish-language films Films about prostitution Films based on Turkish novels Films set in Turkey Films set in Istanbul Films about the Istanbul pogrom Films shot in Istanbul