The smell of money review (Turkish film)- CIFF Day 2

By Akshay

I heard a voice ‘tharpuz’ in this movie directed at a watermelon, that assured me this was a tamil movie minus commercial elements.

There is a hero, but with no punchlines or six pack (not even hair). A comedian, not a banal rhymer. A villain, not a screamer. A heroine, not a dancer.

But still, heart doesn't agree calling this a perfect entertainer. This movie has many characters, well defined characters. Accommodating all of them, sometimes will make you forget what the plot is.

The smell of money as the name suggests is about one of the permanent attractions of mankind, ‘money’. Some desperate for it, some hateful for it, some are balanced with it.

Director Ahmet Boyacioglu taps into this timeless theme and is almost at it. Ahmet shows his writing prowess in explaining money and people's mentality regarding it. An old man whose discourse is like an establishing line ‘The smell of money made my stomach turn, we weren’t attached to it earlier’. Or Adnan who plays the friend of Mehmet(protagonist) talks about dollars just because he has money.

A blind girl, a pathologist, a bankrupt, a single mother without an alimony all of them have different lives and stories they are united under the need for money. These lives sometimes even reflect the kind of life in Turkey.

This movie fails big time because of passionate characters and backgrounds looking bleak at somepoint. This is due to the subplots that could pass for the main plot. And then when we are shown the mainplot the narrative isn't convincing enough.   

Ahmet Boyacioglu has crammed up too much for one movie. The writing doesn't even distract the audience with any technical sophistications, but that works well in a movie like this that already confuses audience with people, life and society.

The smell of money is an example of how overwriting too can harm a movie. This movie flourishes with most of the actors  proving their worth. Though watchable cannot be called a spot on movie due to the straying and at times straining screenplay. Realism lovers are in for a treat.