(465) SIGN OF DOOMSDAY (2016) Turkish 'Rosemary's Baby'
4571DVD
Original
Turkish title ALAMET I KIYAMET [Sign of Doom]
director:
Doga Can Anafarta
starring: Büsra
Çubukçuoglu
· Funda
Ersin · Murat
Onuk · Dogus
Gün Demir
· Belgi
Saygi
The year is 1999.
A young woman named Elif moves into plush Apartment #72, a gift from her
wealthy boyfriend. She soon notices that the apartment building is home
to a wide variety of very strange people who all seem to be obsessed with
Apocalyptic doomsday signs. A bit later, Elif learns that she has become
pregnant. It causes a sensation of dread and depression. And everyone
- including her boyfriend - begins acting even more oddly, as if they
all know a secret being kept from her.
Even though filmmaker
Anafarta claims this movie is based on a 'true' Turkish incident taking
place in 1999, it's clearly lifted from Roman Polanski's Rosemary's
Baby. The fact that this film has essentially the same plot -
without acknowledging the original movie - is not particularly unusual
in the history of Turkish cinema. In Turkey, early projects from the '70s
often 'borrowed' plots and characters from International hits [from Star
Wars to Batman]. For instance, in3
DEV ADAM, it's Santo and Captain America against a villainous
Spiderman. There's also a Turkish
SUPERMAN, an Exorcist clone [SEYTAN]
and even a ripoff of Sergio Martino's giallo STRANGE
VICE OF MRS WARDH called SEX
AND KILLING.
However, it must be
noted that this observation is not meant as a criticism of Anafata's film.
While the plot may not be totally original, the movie IS
impressive. The visual effects [punctuated by an excellent music soundtrack]
add a remarkable tension to the movie. As with many recent Turkish films
(from SICCIN
to MUSALLAT),
Islamic elements are essential to the story. But this one also emphasizes
cultural elements which - sometimes - are critical to the religious philosophy.
A Turkish
film; widescreen, totally uncut version (88 min.), with optional ON/OFF
English subtitles,
DVD encoded for WORLD FORMAT NTSC, playable on any American machine.
Extras include original theatrical trailer.
Graphic
Violence/Sexual Themes/Drugs/Sexual Brutality:
For Mature Audiences
