the struggle of decisionmaking in todays youth
senadalkiran
The movie is based on the inner journey of mu tunc, the director of the movie. Back then, his dream was to become a filmmaker while everyone around him was…
The movie is based on the inner journey of mu tunc, the director of the movie. Back then, his dream was to become a filmmaker while everyone around him was trying to tell him the opposite. Nowadays, young people are told to go abroad and change the city to get the career they want. But very few people stay in a place they actually hate. I think it is somehting like a ''casey-neistat-mentality'' that you should chose to stay in a place you don't like in order to find the beauty in it. Flowers will always bloom in the darkness. And thats where true creativity lies. However, he criticizes the mentality of people living in big metropoles like Istanbul. Instead of changing their perspectives to the better and being grateful where they are, people are constantly trying to flee from one place to another. Especially in the creative industry people adapt to places like New York, London, Berlin or Paris without even realizing that they lose their uniqueness and talents when living the ''nights of their dreams''. It is a crucial topic because in todays society we are constantly distracted by social media which gives us the image that we need to change our surroundings in order to be ourselves. In contrast, it is us, our own perspective that needs to change. The tile of the movie ''aralik'' explains that we are never settling. We are always striving to find better places, better friends, better jobs and better trips. This way of thinking makes us crazy because we are caught in a feedback loop. We dont stop to have expectations. Especially youngsters when chosing a path of their own.Mu tunc is not proposing against travelling in general or big city life. He criticizes against chosing the wrong intentions while decisionmaking when going somewhere else. If you're reading this right now and realize that there is something that makes you feel unhappy in your life, doesn't matter if it is a small or big problem, then start to re-think. Don't give the fault to other people or your ''circumstances''. Start by changing your own perspective. START BY YOURSELF. And if you need help, go find help. If you have the need to travel, go travel. But travel safely with the right intention.
I'm sure you will find your home. Home is where your heart is.
And just a reminder: the world is filled with problems. Every city has its own problems. They will always arise but this doesn't has to do something with the people or the city in general. You'll find it out, wherever you go.One last tip from me: travel alone.All in all, I think this movie by mu tunc is a masterpiece. It helped me to chose my path, I don't know how but I think it just came at the right time.
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★ 3 / 10
I really wanted to like "Arada"...
TheAficionado_
But unfortunately, this punk rocker origin story suffers major issues. Even if you are devout follower of punk rock, I couldn't confidently recommend this…
But unfortunately, this punk rocker origin story suffers major issues. Even if you are devout follower of punk rock, I couldn't confidently recommend this film.
The film follows Ozan, a young man with dreams of escaping Istanbul and making it big with his punk rock music. His father, Atlan, once a famous singer who left his life of fame behind to tend to his children, is less accepting of Ozan's dreams. After an intense argument, Ozan finally gets a opportunity to leave Turkey behind and achieve his dreams.
Sounds interesting, right? But unfortunately, big glaring problems plague the film.
A big issue I have with this film is with our main character, Ozan. Ozan is a remarkably flat character with barely any personality whatsoever. Burak Deniz is a incredibly talented actor, and after seeing him in "Kal", I was more inclined to watch this film. Unfortunately, the script does Ozan a great disservice, as he essentially becomes a broken record, constantly repeating his distaste for Istanbul, Turkey, and his father. So much so that other characters in the film urge him to look at his situation from a different perspective, which he basically ignores. Burak Deniz does his absolute best trying to breathe life into this character, but ultimately falls flat. He has definitely matured as an actor (honestly go watch "Kal" if you want to see him in a good film), but his performance in this film left much to be desired.
Another massive problem that plagues the film is the cinematography. The cinematography really handicaps the film. If you are prone to motion sickness, do not watch this film. As soon as our main character is on the move (which is very frequent due to this film essentially being a wild goose chase), whether it be on the bus, in a taxi, or literally just walking, the camera goes absolutely ballistic. Zooming in and out ever half second, intense camera shaking, awkward camera angles are all to be expected if you chose to watch this movie. All of this makes this film very disorienting to watch.
Another reason why I didn't enjoy this film is the poor worldbuilding. This film is set during a point of unrest for Turkey, but instead of cleverly showing us this time of festering tension, it is constantly shoved down our throats through dialogue. It is so bad that the plot essentially pauses as we are forced to watch a conversation between two people discussing the differences of culture between London and Istanbul. Then, during the last 20 minutes of the film, tensions erupt at a... small courtyard with civilian militia men and the disgruntled youth of Turkey. It is such a major letdown for what is a extremely important turning point in Turkish culture and society.
Overall, despite me essentially being the target audience for this movie, it straggles its way to the end of its runtime. I cannot in good faith recommend this film.
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4.5/10
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