Balans ve Manevra is a great movie about a group of people living in one of the most beautiful Aegian coast towns who, despite the serenity and the beauty of the place, just can't seem to find the "balance" that they all so desperately need in their lives no matter what "maneuver" they make. The low ratings and bad reviews are mainly due to the fact that this is not a movie that appeals to the common audience. It has a slow pace that focuses on character development instead of the story, because the characters are the story in the film and the performances across the board are simply amazing. Having seen many Turkish films in the recent recovery of the Turkish movie industry, I think I can easily say that this one has the best acting among them. Also the subtitles on the DVD are excellently translated for an English-speaking audience. I know that sounds trivial but so many Turkish movies screw this up that I think it is worth mentioning. The directing is not phenomenal and is a bit inconsistent throughout, but some scenes are really promising about Teoman's future as a filmmaker. I'm personally excited about his debut and I hope he develops and establishes his own style. He certainly did a great job of assembling an amazing cast.
