User reviews

Yilmaz Erdogan's first film which is about the introduction of TV to a village in Southeast Anatolia. People's first encounter with TV technology is told in a humorous way. Yeah, it is fun. The cast is basically of theatre origin - Yilmaz Erdogan's famous BKM players who are acting in the hilarious TV show "Bir Demet Tiyatro" for years. And of course the incredible Cem Yilmaz. Visual editing is nice.The dialogues are entertaining. I recommend it, you'll not be disappointed.

History, tradition, fun, comedy, a little bit drama, this film was very rich about subjects. Yilmaz Erdogan's first great film. Everyone must watch this film because it is teaching many things. This film shaped Yilmaz Erdogan's films in the future. You must watch this first.

Groundbreaking Turkish theatre and television comedy performer Yılmaz Erdoğan ("Bir Demet Tiyatro") teamed up with up-and-coming cinematographer-director Ömer Faruk Sorak ("Asansor") for this self-penned comedy drama drawn from his own childhood memories which was a massive box-office success and was followed by a sequel two years later.

Eccentric electrician "Crazy" Emin (Yılmaz Erdoğan) assists village mayor Nazmi (Altan Erkekli) in setting up a television transmitter, unceremoniously dumped on them by a visiting TRT delegation from Anakara, despite the objections of his own wife (Demet Akbağ) and local cinema impresario Latif (Cezmi Baskın) who decry it as the work of the devil.

Writer-director Yılmaz Erdoğan puts in a strong, but far from domineering, central performance alongside his "Bir Demet Tiyatro" co-stars Demet Akbağ and Altan Erkekli, who both won Golden Orange awards for their performances, as the curious triumvirate at the emotional heart of a story which sends them through the full gamut of emotions.

Comedian Cem Yılmaz ("Everything's Gonna Be Great") heads-up a highly eclectic supporting ensemble also largely drawn from the cast of "Bir Demet Tiyatro", which includes the distinguished Cezmi Baskın, a young Şafak Sezer, and a who's who of guest players including Köksal Engür, Erkan Can, Betül Arım, Zerrin Sümer, Meral Çetinkaya and Yasemin Alkaya.

The debutant directorial duo manage, with the assistance of a truly world class ensemble and a Golden Orange award-winning soundtrack from Kardeş Türküler, a magnificent balancing act between the comedic and tragic elements of the sepia-tinged story of bygone Hakkâri right-up to the seemingly pre-requisite heart-wrenching dénouement.

"lf he's so worried, this vizontele must be a good thing."

When i first heard about that Turkish movie i have a lot of doubts about it. The script did not sound interesting to me. The fact that i have seen Uzak, an other movie from Turkey (one of my favourites also) helped me a lot to take the decision to watch it. From the first time i realized that this movie is a masterpiece. A real comedy, a real drama. No fake reality, no fake emotions. Everything flows in a perfect harmony. The music, the picture, the characters... Every character in this movie is so unique that you have the feeling that you have met him. You don't have to know Turkish to understand the movie, characters speak with their expressions. Music, life style and the beautiful wild nature fits so perfect together.

This movie, is a true gem. A masterpiece that presents a real culture. You don't have the right to miss it.

Seventies... A small town in the Eastern parts of Turkey... A change in the lives...A sudden change... A new invention called "vizontele"(television) in the town...And a new quest for the people of the town...To operate this new invention... Yilmaz Erdogan, together with the well chosen casting gives a very good performance in reconstructing the tragic-funny events that took place in many of those small towns... The location, the shooting, the directing, the casting, the screenplay all made this the best Turkish movie ever, which in a sense was reflected in the records it broke in terms of box office... Congratulations Erdogan....

Yilmaz Erdogan, I think, improves his career with this film. His colleagues, Cem Yilmaz, Demet Akbag act as they are Oscar awarded actors. I am very proud of this great Turkish movie. I think this means that Turkish cinema is in great progress.

Turkish cinema is successful only in two genres, drama and comedy, unfortunately. However, in this two genres, there are some masterpiece level movies, I must say. Vizontele is one of them in my opinion, as a great harmony of these two genres. It is the beginning of a new era in Turkish cinema which is dominated by the actors and actresses of this movie in the following decade. The cast of the movie is so to say an 'All-Star' squad of acting containing plenty of master degree acting artists, which is very hard to be encounter again in the future. There are lots of notable performances without a distinction of lead role or back role, some of which are performed by Erkan Can, Köksal Engür, Cem Yılmaz, Cezmi Baskın, Şafak Sezer, Zerrin Sümer, Tolga Çevik, Salih Kalyon, Selahattin Taşdöğen, Sinan Bengier, Erdal Tosun, İclal Aydın, Tuncer Salman, Bican Günalan, Şebnem Sönmez, Serhat Özcan and of course the lead artists Demet Akbağ, Altan Erkekli and Yılmaz Erdoğan. This movie has gifted so many quotes that are used even today in Turkish people's daily conversations. In this manner, it is possible to claim that Vizontele has already became a cult Turkish movie.

I suppose the humour in this movie would be a little difficult to 'appreciate' if you don't come from a Turkish or Mediterranean background. The movie is set in a town in Turkey that is so delayed in modern lifestyle and technology - in the 70's - that they call television 'visiontele' (vizontele). As most ethnic people can somehow relate to these peoples lives, it is a reminder of where they've come from and how they were brought up and therefore simply hilarious. As for those unfamiliar with a Turkish upbringing, the towns naiivity as a whole is worthwhile seeing.

I found this movie particularly funny because it has a lot of dry and implicit humour which i'm not sure if it would be the same by reading subtitles. Nonetheless it is definitely worth seeing and even after i've seen it 20 times it never fails to make me laugh. Turks came up with one good movie and i think they'll spend the rest of their lives trying to make a better one. vizontele is comedy at its best. 10/10.

The story revolves around the first attempt to install a television in a village. "Vizontele" tries to explain how "advanced technology" a television is, even though there is no electricity in the village. But since the villagers are so advanced, they are not very good at understanding this technology. There are many people who sit in front of the television and say, "I wonder which way to turn the screen?" Broken antennas, wrong connections, villagers waiting with great curiosity, saying "Let's see what happens?"... Vizontele really presents this funny technological conflict in a wonderful way.

When we consider that the first television that everyone in the village sees is the only technological device in the house, the dose of comedy increases considerably. Because there are even those who say, "What is a television, the biggest device in the village is the chicken sold in the market anyway!" But of course, as technology advances, the villagers are extremely surprised by the questions "What is happening in our village, where are we going?"

The First Television in the Village: Love, Curiosity and Lots of Doubt!

While Nasreddin Hoca (Tolga Çevik), one of the main characters of the film, is trying to set up this new television, the villagers are trying to learn in one go, "How are we going to turn it on?" But the real suspicion is trying to understand whether the television actually gives a "Blue Screen"! The whole village waits with great hope every day, thinking, "Maybe if we make the volume a little louder, the screen will be clearer!" while watching the television as "unencrypted TV". Some villagers even question this, saying, "No, will this box surprise us?" For a generation that lived in the 1950s, it is not television, it is a monotonous slide, it is modernity!

"The Story" is Really Modern and Funny!

While watching the villagers' surprise throughout the film, you also realize how every event is intertwined in an extremely funny way. Vizontele finds the funny test of the villagers who have settled in history with technology on the one hand, and the answer to the village's question, "What happened, we haven't stayed there yet?" on the other. While watching it, thinking, "Television has arrived, everything is changing in an instant!", will there be any sensible jobs sent to the city?

I have read some reviews from people stating the time the film was meant to reflect on was wrong, the acting was not good and the area it was filmed in was not right, i wonder why people go on about these little little things and why they don't just watch the film and enjoy.

I certainly did and everyone else i know did, and i can say that we didn't sit down and argue about why the date/timing of the filming was wrong.

Great movie, a must see.

Erdogan is a very good director and i think in time he will get better he will definitely make funnier films, better films.

Will Zeki Muren see us too?

Good Turkish movie.

Y. Erdogan did great job.

I think this movie is the most wonderful film i've seen in the world.. The cast the subject and also the background is excellent. Yilmaz Erdogan Altan Erkekli Demet Akbag and also the naughty child Cem Yilmaz are the same as Hollywood actors and actresses.. If you think the life in Turkey in that year television is a great and exciting thing for that villages people. They don't know anything about television (and also they don't know its name..:)) but the important point is no one of us understand the how the movie ends.. This point makes the movie more and more exciting.. I agree that everyone in the world should watch this movie..

This movie tells about the strange, naive, ignorant, low religious, Turkish people in 1970. As you watch the movie, you will better understand the psychology of people who did not know television in those years. You will see the positive and negative reactions of a society that has entered something new, such as television, into this innovation. It's a folk movie. He described the lifestyle of the people at that time well.

The actors performed their roles quite well. They naturally depicted the speeches, accents, clothes, states and movements of the people in the geography where the film was shot.

The end of the film with drama was beneficial for the film's impressiveness.

The point that attracts my attention in the film is that the imam of the mosque is someone who does not know Islam. To show the imam of the mosque as someone who does not enlighten the people, is ignorant, ignorant, and speaks for the interests of others. This cools people from Islam and reduces the public's trust in people who describe Islam. This creates a negative perception towards the people who talk about religion and Islam in the People.

Though much better than must of Turkish films that make a huge box-office, Vizontele seems to forget that this is a "movie", not a play (due to its cast and crew of theater origin). The whole film is made up of little sketches (usually aiming to make the audience laugh, for no cost)and there are too many characters, some of which have are of no use but making people laugh, which are sometimes distracting from the overall story.

But it masterfully accomplishes what it really is tying to achieve: drawing many audiences (even the ones who never go to the movies) to the movie, amusing them and showing the Turkish cinema is not hopeless. It's true: EVERYONE loved this movie and despite its flaws, it's still a good example of Turkish movies.

This movie broke (by far) all time box office records in Turkey and it was highly regarded by critics. It appears all critiques at IMDb so far are also quite positive. But, I have several reservations about this movie. One of the first is also expressed by another reviewer. The script is more like a theater play than a movie; it is really a series of sketches, similar to those you would find in some TV series (MASH in the US comes to mind). Second, and maybe this was an unrealistic expectation on my part, is the absence of a commentary. Somehow I expected a deeper social expose or a commentary about TV entering into social life in rural areas, especially in Eastern or Southeastern Turkey. It turned out the Gevas, Van locale played no specific role. The movie could have taken place in any town in Turkey. TV changes lives in profound ways everywhere, especially in places such as Gevas which I felt was missing in a big way. Third is what I would consider a number of historical errors or omissions. The year is obviously 1974, specifically July 1974. I don't think this was a time when the Turkish (TRT) TV network extended into small towns via transponders yet, especially in Eastern Turkey. At the time even daytime Medium Wave radio reception could not have been as flawless in that area as depicted in the movie. The story about a two-member non-technician TRT crew delivering a transponder without installing it and the equipment being essentially ready to be plug-and-play is not realistic. This is an entertaining movie and maybe that is good enough for many people but based on what I have read I was somehow expecting another Camdan Kalp.

I believe still didn't shot better costume drama in Turkey. Vizontele one of the first big production in Turkey and change many thing for Turkish cinema. Emin is unforgettable character for Turkish cinema history even may be one of best. Cem yilmaz did an outstanding job even better than some of his own movies.

I really liked it. It was one of the best movies of Turkey. Especially, Cem Yilmaz's role was funny as hell. The director, Yilmaz Erdogan was also playing a role (idiot) in that movie. It was about the TV (televisions). There was a village in Turkey, and that village had been unaware of the invention of television. After some time, it was time to meet the black-box. However, It was easy to get a Tv, but the folks didn't know how to run it, even if they did, scanning the channels was still being a problem. Fianlly, They decided that only the idiot-guy of the village could manage it, and thus, all comedy was begun. 9,3 /10

I dont like drama in comedy movies. I like comedy in drama movies. Sorry for cutting 1 star.

Commenting on a movie after having watched it on a turkish TV rather than at cinema has painful drawbacks...I have to confess I could not get many dialogue because of censorship by turkish television. The first thing i realized watching the movie was the use of colors, you will probably enjoy the colors...The rest of the movie was tasteless except a few dialogue. The story was shallow, and i had experienced great difficulties to get many points. The use of language in the movie was not realistic, the acting was average, it had a taste of an average theatrical play...I believe shooting a movie requires more effort and use of technique...So why this movie has had great success at box office? Hard to reply it...I am still trying out to find the answer...Maybe the taste of turkish audience is also so shallow...

I entered this movie, expecting an over-rated, far-from funny, horribly acted, unrealistic load of hyped-up trash. Imagine my suprise, when it turned out to be a magnifecent piece of art, worth praising for hours without end. This is cinema art in it's best moments. Alright, I'm exaggerating, but Yilmaz Erdogan has done a terrific job with the story, the characters, and most of all the editing and cinematography. Erdogan has created magic with the camera, and has created a believable, realistic movie. Like a Coen Brothers movie, Vizontele is done so neatly, that one mutters curses during the final 15 minutes, cursing at the irony of the entire plot and ending. I've been living in Ankara for the past 4 years, and my knowledge of Turkish is now almost as good as my English. I sent out mail to all my friends back in the States, recommending this movie. Catch it- and catch it subtitled. For some odd reason, the greatest movie-producing country of all time, conjures up some of the worst dubbings in history. Watch it, and keep in mind that this not the usual turkish stuff. Watch it as soon as possible, and I mean it.

After the scene that the TV get first started, you realize that you were in the same place like the villagers. Until that scene, the date is unknown (only thing we know is seventies) and after that, you "exactly" can say, on what date these people live and what's going on!

I liked it... and still like. One of the good (probably the best) Turkish movies in the last decade.

I rushed to see Vizontele, a Turkish dramady, because recently Netflix offered Paper Lives, a neorealist Turkish drama that could compete favorably internationally with its sweet characterization of an Istanbul dumpster diver. Vizontele, a less impressive drama but oddly effective comedy, is as much silly as it is subtle in its satire of the effect television has on a small Eastern Turkey town of the '70's and, of course, the world.

Director, co-writer, and star Yilmaz Erdogan deftly uses almost slapstick humor about the delivery of the first TV to the town to remind us all that 50 years later we have never yet slipped the bonds of the medium. Through a series of vignettes, some more successful at comedy, others more so at drama, Vizontele (so new they can't even give it the right name) gives us laughs at the town's bungling efforts to get the TV working while hinting that even more than cinema, which they have nicely adjusted to over the years, television, and by extension technology, changes things.

This new medium will not go away, no matter how deep they try to bury it. The local news shocks them, some from Pakistan, ye gods! Bringing bad news they might have lived happily without. Like visiting strangers in dramas of the West, this new arrival changes things profoundly. More so TV

Notwithstanding the comic struggles of the town to broadcast, the deeper drama in the last act prophetically warns of the enduring effects of technology, not all good. Yet Vizontele remains positive about humans, and I am beginning to gain affection for Turkey's film output, which so far has fun with the present while it subtly comments on the effects of progress, not all good.

Balancing between the comic and the serious with sure footing is the Turkish legacy, aided by a gifted Yilmaz Erdogan.