The Ottoman Republic

The Ottoman Republic (Turkish: Osmanlı Cumhuriyeti) is a 2008 Turkish comedy film directed by Gani Müjde. The film, which stars Ata Demirer, is a political comedy built upon the question, "What would have happened if Mustafa Kemal Atatürk never existed?" It went on general release across Turkey on November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21) and is the fourth-highest-grossing Turkish film of 2008.[2][3][4][5]

The Ottoman Republic
Theatrical poster
Directed byGani Müjde
Produced byŞükrü Avşar
Written byGani Müjde
Fatih Solmaz
Emre Bülbül
StarringAta Demirer
Vildan Atasever
Sümer Tilmaç
Ali Düşenkalkar
Atilla Olgaç
Ruhsar Öcal
Ceyhun Yılmaz
Sezen Aksu
Music bySezen Aksu
CinematographyUğur İçbak
Edited byMustafa Preşeva
Production
company
Avşar Film
Distributed byUIP Filmcilik
Release date
  • November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21)
Running time
100 mins
CountryTurkey
LanguageTurkish
BudgetUS$ 2,000,000[1]
Box officeUS$ 8,689,739

Synopsis

The year is 1888. A 7-year-old child was first seen running on a vast field to scare the crows off of the meadows of Thessalonica, and then he falls from a tree while reaching out to a nightingale. Everything goes black. The child who falls from the tree is Mustafa, who would have grown to become the founder of the Republic of Turkey and be given the surname Atatürk, that is, if he did not fall to his coma that day. The film fast-forwards to over a century later into the year 2007. Without Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey's history, no War of Independence has been fought, Ankara has not become the country's capital, and the country continues its existence as the Ottoman Republic, ruled by the Sultan Osman VII (Ata Demirer), who has become little more than a figurehead and a source of ridicule by foreign dignitaries, especially by the United States.

At first, he emerges from his palace as Janissaries play a march for him. Outside the palace, several protesters who objected to foreign interference in Ottoman affairs were suppressed by the police. He then prays at a mosque, before the next scenes focus on his wife's shopping.

For all of his bumbling antics, the Sultan was forced to abdicate for his failed administration, and was exiled. The scene shifts from the Istanbul harbour back to the wheat fields of Thessalonica, as the boy Mustafa recovers from his coma. He gets up and runs off beating a can with a stick, as a voice-over of one of his future speeches plays in the background.

Release

The film opened on general release in 205 screens across Turkey on November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21) at number one in the Turkish box office chart with a worldwide opening weekend gross of $1,988,968.[6]

Opening weekend gross
DateTerritoryScreensRankGross
November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21) Turkey 205 1 $1,988,968
November 20, 2008 (2008-11-20) Germany 35 7 $319,505
November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21) Belgium 6 12 $36,770
November 20, 2008 (2008-11-20) Netherlands - 11 $34,948
November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21) Austria 5 15 $20,472
November 28, 2008 (2008-11-28) United Kingdom 1 39 $7,787

Reception

Box Office

The movie was number one at the Turkish box office for two weeks running and was the fourth-highest-grossing Turkish film of 2009 with a total gross of $7,746,467. It remained in the Turkish box-office charts for nineteen weeks and made a total worldwide gross of $8,689,739.[6]

Reviews

In his latest historical comedy, popular satirist and TV writer, Gani Müjde, travels on similar turf, to his debut feature "Kahpe Bizans" (The Perfidious Byzantium), which poked fun at the earlier nationalist films of Turkish cinema, introduces Hürriyet Daily News reviewer Emrah Güler, who concludes, both Gani Müjde and Ata Demirer are favorite household names who never fail to put a smile on followers of Turkish pop culture.[7]

References

  1. "Osmanlı Cumhuriyeti Geliyor". bakiniz.com. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  2. Özyurt, Olkan (2008-07-22). "A rainbow of Turkish films awaits moviegoers". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  3. "This week in theaters". Today's Zaman. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  4. Çelen, Nergihan (2008-11-25). "'Ottoman Republic' a glimpse of what might have been". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  5. Yıldırım, Eöine (2008-12-06). "'Osmanlı Cumhuriyeti' Here comes the sultan". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  6. "Osmanli cumhuriyeti". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  7. Güler, Emrah (2008-08-16). "Turkish films, coming soon". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
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