Three Friends

This melodrama has it all - Gul (Hulya Kocyigit) is a blind girl whose sight miraculously returns, and resumes her career as a singer in a Gazino. She falls in love with fortuneteller Murat (Kadir Inanir), but their love-affair cools and Murat ends up falling on hard times. Gul ends up pursuing her career, while Murat has to rely on the consolation of his two friends - making the three friends of the title - Mustik (Halit Akcatepe) and Artin (Musfik Kenter). Memduh Un's film is a prime example of Yesilcam melodrama, full of abrupt cuts, zooms into the protagonists, musical interluded, intercuts between the protagonists, and dramatic music. It's a fascinating record of a long-defunct genre, whose techniques have been appropriated by the contemporary Turkish diziler (or series). The film offers interesting perspective of Istanbul in the early Seventies, as well as recording full-blooded performances by the costars Inanir and Kocyigit. Definitely worth a watch on a tedious afternoon.