25. Arif V 216; movie review

ARIF V 216
Cert 15
126 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

'What on earth was that?", asked Mrs W as we trudged out of screen 6 at Enfield Cineworld.
Yes, one of the reasons we had trekked down to London at the weekend was to see Kivanç Baruönü's heralded Turkish comedy Arif V 216.
However, I presume that not having seen this sequel's original meant that we missed important nuances.
That said, there were not even as many laughs from a well populated audience as we might have expected.
Arif V 216 stars Cem Yilmaz as the space and time traveller who finds himself drifting between the 1960s and the present day.
His best friend is a robot (Ozan Güven) who arrives in a yet-to-be-assembled package from a faraway planet where the two first met eight years previously.
The movie rests on his assimilation (or the difficulties surrounding it) into human society.
The robot has a love interest (Seda Bakan) but is easily influenced by those trying to make a fast buck out of him but he struggles with the idiosyncrasies of human behaviour and, inevitably, this leads to misunderstandings and conflict.
My synopsis actually makes Baruönü's film seem far more straightforward than it is. In reality it zips all over the place and introduces so many concepts (at one point Arif suddenly becomes a pop star) that it is quite hard to follow.
The truth is that even after seven years of watching them, Mrs W and I struggle with Turkish comedies.
They tend towards the slapstick, face pulling and sheer daftness which was the hallmark of British comedy back in the 1970s but doesn't really resonate much with us nowadays.
However, I can only accept the positive views of those who think this celebrates Turkish 1960s culture and are taken with the soundtrack.
And, as said, we did not watch the original which seems to have many fans.

Reasons to watch: if you are into this style of Turkish comedy
Reasons to avoid: it doesn't work as a standalone

Laughs: none from us - some from others in the audience
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4/10

The big question - what makes slapstick comedy appeal to some cultures more than others?

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