TURKEY
AĞIT Elegy
1971 – 35mm – colourd - 80’
Direction: Yilmaz Güney
Screenplay: Yilmaz Güney
Cinematography: Gani Turanli
Music: Arif Erkin
Cast: Yilmaz Güney, Hayati Hamzaoglu, Bilal Inci, Atilla Olgaç, Yusuf Koç, Sahin Dilbaz
Production: Güney Film
SYNOPSIS
A gang of smugglers have taken to the mountains, in a deserted village that is situated under a ridge whose erosion makes constantly fall rocks. The gangsters live in a situation of chronic instability and their relationship is governed by a strict law that admits of no forgiveness.
CRITICAL NOTE
Ağit, one of the most important and personal films by Güney, addresses the problems of Eastern Anatolia, disinherited and left to gangs of mountain smugglers. In this film, the style is really different from the one in Umut: the intimist, analytical realism is yielding to a kind of epic realism, based on visual and sound effects and on parallel editing, which is sometimes reminiscent of Banditi a Orgosolo by Vittorio De Seta. (Attila Dorsay)
AWARDS
1971 Adana Festival: Best Film, Best Script, Best Director, Best Actor
