Özer Kiziltan - Takva aka A Man's Fear Of God (2006)

Humble and introvert Muharrem lives in a solitary and meager existence of a prayer and sexual abstinence adhering strictly to the most severe Islamic doctrines. His extraordinary devotion attracts the attention of the leader of a rich and powerful Istanbul religious group and he offers him an administrative post as a rent collector for their numerous properties. Muharrem's new job throws him into the modern outside world he has successfully avoided for so long. He soon witnesses a conflicting attitude toward alcohol consumption and goodwill. He notices that he himself has become proud, domineering and even dishonest. To make matters worse, Muharrem's inner peace is unnerved by the tormenting image of a seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams, both night and day. With the balance of his devotion now upset, his fear of God begins to eat away at his senses.





Takva - A Man's Fear of God is one of those films that playfully enact conflicts of fundamental importance for the world we live in. Takva starts off with humble Muharrem, an introverted single man living in Istanbul, being drawn into the inner circle of a Muslim brotherhood he has adhered to ever since his childhood days. When the erudite and strikingly pragmatic leader, Sheikh Cemal, appoints him as his financial organizer, Muharrem gets endowed with all the amenities and trappings of a modern world businessman. He has to collect rent and administer the order's finances. His naive will to live a life according to what he thinks is the will of God clashes not only with his unfulfilled sexual desires, but also with the mechanisms of power within the order. The brothers' lifestyle may be conservative, but they run an organization that is fully intertwined with the present day social, political and economic life of Turkey.

For Muharrem, who hardly understands any of this business, this means that every step he intends to make for the greater glory of God draws him ever deeper into the quagmire of corruption, lies and hypocrisy. The authority he is endowed with now makes him haughty and difficult to deal with, while his accumulated frustration increasingly throws him into literal fits. Everything escalates when he comes face to face with the woman he desires...

The plot for this great film is based on an old folk tale from Turkey about a man who refuses to marry the daughter of his spiritual master although he clearly loves her. In Onder Cakar and Omer Kiziltan's adaptation, the narrative serves to expose the inner mechanisms of puritan Muslim orders and throw light on the mental set-up of its loyal members. (IMDB)

Source: DVD rip and screenshots by AnarchoSyndicate





Takva: Un hombre temeroso de Dios
Ambientada en la Turquía contemporánea, que se debate entre el peso de su tradición cultural y religiosa y el acercamiento a la Europa comunitaria, la cinta cuenta la historia de Muharrem (Erkan Can), un hombre de vida austera que repentinamente accede a un nuevo estatus social gracias al cometido como recaudador que le concede el líder de su comunidad religiosa. La nueva situación acarreará a Muharren una serie de conflictos morales, espirituales y personales que irán desvelando un tortuoso proceso de autodescubrimiento que hasta entonces ni se había planteado, al tiempo en que retratan un país escindido en sus propias contradicciones y en busca de una nueva identidad. (FA)



Takva, l'homme qui craint Dieu
À Istanbul, le pieux Muharrem, membre d'une confrérie musulmane rigoriste, mène une existence austère, partagée entre la mosquée et son emploi chez un petit marchand. Sa foi et son dévouement lui valent d'être choisi par son cheikh pour un emploi de confiance : prendre soin de l'important patrimoine immobilier de la confrérie à travers la ville, notamment en collectant les loyers. Du jour au lendemain, déguisé en riche homme d'affaires, il découvre un monde profane dont il ignorait tout. Et vacille sous des chocs successifs, submergé par des tentations inconnues.




5D