User reviews

From the cinematography to the plot, to the fine acting, this film is a great example of the diversity of film-making outside Hollywood. A triumph from beginning to end, this film is pretty difficult to pigeonhole as it has so many elements to it. Is it a thriller, is it a reflection on one man's life, is it a buddy movie, is it a revenge movie? It's all this and more. It's got a great pace about it and the depiction of city and country is nicely juxtaposed in many of it's scenes. It's a while since I've seen this film, but there are so many scenes which have stayed with me. I love this film, but damn it's difficult to find.

I've seen this movie in the cinema ten years ago when I was younger and now, after seeing it again, I'm surprised that I still get the same emotions from it. In my review, I'll try to stay away of spoilers but I'll also give you a good treatment of the plot as well (just the big-picture).

Movie starts as Baran, an old eskiya (a honorable bandit) is getting out of prison after 35 years of jail to find his village and his home under the waters of Firat river. He then learns that his confinement was due to an old comrade's betrayal, and that his comrade took away and married his lover, Keje. Baran comes to the biggest city of Turkey, Istanbul to seek his old comrade and maybe to take revenge...

Due to an unlikely coincidence, he meets Cumali, a young man that has no family and is living in Istanbul, earning his life with criminal acts. Baran the Eskiya is not familiar with the city-life but Cumali is willing to help him because of his debt.

Baran the eskiya has a deep character, despite his criminal past, he looks like a naive person in the metropolitan city of Istanbul. Despite that he is an uneducated person, he may be the most honorable and wise person in this big city. Sener Sen (Baran) and Ugur Yucel (Cumali) each gives spectacular acting performance and their talents combined with an intelligent script breathe life into this "Eskiya" myth. Baran is the last of the Eskiyas !

The movie has a slow start but towards the ending, the mood gets stronger. The movie reaches it's climax at the dramatic scenes to the finish. This is a story about honor and the power of love. This is a story about two strangers that are becoming tied emotionally, like the father and the son. A classic Turkish Action/Drama movie for all to see !

PS. also check out another Turkish movie "Kabadayi" by the same director/writer (Yavuz Turgul) and the same actor (Sener Sen).

The 'rebirth' of Turkish cinema is rejoiced with perhaps one of the finest movies to ever appear in Turkey. It appears the sudden pause of the Turkish cinema due to the lacking quality against the western movie market has resumed, transforming yesilcam and its unique and familiar style into something that is more recognizable by the 'new generation'. Movies like Kahbe Bizans, Abuzer Kadayif, Eskiya, and TV series like Ikinci Bahar and Yilan Hikayesi are some of the finest examples of this. Yet these are far more than simple replications of the western styles, these contain an element of the Turkish culture and people that we are so used to seeing. This is the essence of the brilliance beneath Eskiya. The way it accurately reflects our troubles and the way we deal with them.

Beginning with the first scene, we become aware of the how incredibly well written the script is and the realism and truthfulness beneath the characters. This realism in fact is drawn to such a scale that at no poin t in the movie, do we feel anger at any character, or identify one as evil; merely the victims of the horrible system in which we live in, and the incidents we read in the papers everyday. While national problems such as migration, organized crime, and poverty are all central themes to the movie, so are human emotions like betrayal and revenge. Even the bizarre ending filled with numerous deaths appears very natural.

The acting also is quite remarkable. Sener Sen, being a great actor, portrays Baran superbly, while Ugur Yucel with his unquestionable talent does his part and every other role is cast with incredible thought and consideration. The climax I thought shows this the best, Sener Sens monologue on the rooftop scene had tears coming out of my eyes.

Overall, it would be very unjust to say that this is the greatest Turkish movie to be ever filmed because, being a kid of the new generation, I would simply be completely blocking out 50+ years of yesilcam. However with it's great script, the warmth we feel towards the characters, and the amazing performances by the actors, this is one of the best and it most certainly is a symbol of the rebirth of Turkish cinema. If you are Turkish and haven't seen or heard about this movie, you probably slept through the last 5 years go see it now! And if you're not Turkish, you should still see it. I recommend it to anyone.

this movie has a great storyline.. for the people that doesn't know Turkish movies highly recommended to watch this movie, its a great drama with Sener Sen (one of the best Turkish actor)who's the last bandit from his old gang. He was in prison because of his backstabbing friend, he gets out of jail and start for seeking revenge and starts finding the real reason of the backstabbing. This movie stays one of my favorites and thats why i wont spoil anything, so i highly recommend you guys this movie !!

10 out of 10

ReZ

This is a great Turkish movie. It has a great story line. This movie opened a new age in turkish movie history. Before this movie turkish cinemas were almost dying. The actors are great. If you want to watch a great movie try this!

i can write just one comment about this movie. You must see that movie before you die. Magnificent movie from Turkey. "From the cinematography to the plot, to the fine acting, this film is a great example of the diversity of film-making outside Hollywood. A triumph from beginning to end, this film is pretty difficult to pigeonhole as it has so many elements to it. Is it a thriller, is it a reflection on one man's life, is it a buddy movie, is it a revenge movie? It's all this and more. It's got a great pace about it and the depiction of city and country is nicely juxtaposed in many of it's scenes. It's a while since I've seen this film, but there are so many scenes which have stayed with me. I love this film, but damn it's difficult to find." i am join in that.

Sener Sen was a well known actor before Eskiya but after this movie he is like Al Pacino for Turkish people.The movie is the best movie of all Turkish movies and I had seen it for nearly ten times and each time I discovered different things and I liked it more.The movie is about an eshkiya means a person lives in the mountains,takes money from rich people in order to survive someone lawless.After 35 years in prison he meets a man in the train and than their fates go in the same way.He will love him as if like his child so that he will even leave his darling for him.The movie is about love,revenge,mafia and drug deals.It is a real masterpiece and I recommend this to everyone

Also we know about Sener SEN...he is the king of Turkish Movies. I like him very much. Movie is wonderful in all the ways. I watched almost all the movies of Sener SEN...Eskiya is the finest and the biggest production for him i think. But i want him to act in the more movies. It was the last biggest production for him. Now he plays for a T.V. with Turkan SORAY who is the finest and greatest actress ever and ever in TURKEY.

Now, how can you not watch a movie if it has garnered an avg vote of 8.6 spread over 30000 odd fans/critics on IMDb...? Sener Sen is a Turkish actor whom you probably don't even know, this was only the second film I watched with him as a lead and he is fantastic ! This film has prompted me to write my first ever review, even Braveheart couldn't do it! The movie is about the life of a bandit after having spent half of his life in prison, adapt to the changes in the surroundings, or is it the surroundings that adapt to him? Keep guessing ! His long time love is the only thing on his mind before old feeling and emotions surge and drown him into the life, he was once a King of ! He is strong, though weak at times when you see him with his love, at one time he is seen advising the young buddy to quit the wrong ways of life while at times...but he knows how to turn things right if they do really go wrong...! Street views, the countryside, the city of old Istambul and the starlit sky-- a wow cinematography! Add to that the Bandit's act ! Superfluous !!! Please watch it and save the movie for next generations ! It sure teaches us a way of life that was !!!

After 35 years in prison, a mountain bandit goes to Istanbul to find the man who betrayed him and stole his lady. Nothing much new here, dredging up a lot of the usual gangster/revenge/fish out of water motifs, but it does a decent job of pulling you in and manages a certain freshness despite the familiarity of the material. Some of the larger dramatic scenes are painfully clichéd, but it's pieced together nicely and has some pretty good character moments. I get the feeling Turgul is a more talented director than a writer. Sener Sem (who I just realized was also in that lousy "Rascals" movie I recently watched) is a likable fellow, and his rapport with Ugur Yucel works well. Overall it's a somewhat mediocre film, but quite watchable with flashes of potential.

Şener ŞEN is in my opinion the greatest actor around the Turkey. He can perform every role play without any feigned movement. And ESKIYA is after many years of silence of the productivity in the cinema community of the Turkey, a milestone leaving behind the unsuccessful and infertile times. Before that film there was no such a good film recently made and even I can say for a decade. After a few outstanding films (Suyun öte yanı, Tatar ramazan, Uçurtmayı vurmasınlar, Berlin in Berlin, Duvar, Yol...) it was the first striking film. The cast is well chosen, also the screenplay and soundtrack is amazing and a very dramatically ending. I LOVE this film. whenever I watch it I experience the same feelings and sometimes I cry ...

Yavuz Turgut's "Eskiya," which came out almost a decade ago, is he perfect illustration of how unique Turkish cinema can be when it combines elements of Western crime genre films and Anatolian folk dramas, which have been the basis for Turkish films since Muhsin Ertugrul directed films some 75 years ago. The film has some major flaws, but these are mostly in terms of production. The script and its' direction are fairly crisp, and the acting by veteran comic Sener Sen, in a serious role here, and Ugur Yucel, who was also great in Ali Ozgenturk's "Balalayka," is quite exceptional. The film features a haunting score, deep symbolism (particularly in the final scenes) and timely social themes. I think the later is one of the reasons why it has not been popular with those who are more unfamiliar with Turkey, but it is this very element which makes the film more than just a routine gangster film. The film is also considerably more violent than most Turkish films, though many (particularly '70s films of the late Yilmaz Guney) made for brutal cinematic experiences. Another interesting aspect of this film is that it shows a crime family taking its' lifestyle from Anatolia into Istanbul, which reminded me of how Marlon Brando took up where he left off upon leaving Sicily for New York. "Eskiya/The Bandit" is not as exceptional as either "Yol" or "Uzak/Distant" but it is quite a moving film and I gather since it outgroosed "Titanic" in Turkey, it was quite the crowd-pleaser.The film was also made at a time when film production in Turkey was at an all-time low, but the industry has thankfully picked up considerably.

After thirty five years of porridge a Turkish felon is freed with the aim of forfeiting you two hours of your precious existence, while in the meantime, you discover what must be a typo at IMDb that places this in its top 250 of all time - whereas it would be more at home in the slightly lower echelons - cultural differences perhaps.

I found this movie to be one of the best that have ever come out of Turkey. It addresses and reflects on many levels issues and transformations that are currently part of Turkish culture . Sener Sen is strong in his role as an aging "eskiya" (a Turkish word for a bandit that would roam the country, making his living off ambush and looting) who returns to his rural home after years of imprisonment only to find his only love taken away to the big city (Istanbul). The story unfolds as an at times romantic, at times funny, at times sad and serious tale which speaks to the multiplicities of modern Turkish life, be it the culture clash (and melding) between city and rural populace, institutional corruption, poverty, and most importantly the identity of a nation that has for almost a century been torn between East and West. The love story driving the whole plot is really only a lighter framework to depict the more important issues in Turkish society that this movie successfully tackles.

Eskiya is perhaps the best Turkish film that has authenticity. Everyone who wants to learn about Turkish films should see it. It has been regarded as the return of Turkish cinema after all the bad amateur porno movies shot in the 70's. People trembled after seeing it. The performances of Sener Sen and Ugur Yucel who were the main characters in the film were worth seeing. What is left after the movie was their unforgettable quotes about life. I did not meet with a Turkish person who watched the film and did not cry. After Eskiya most of the film directors who were jaded owing to the situation in Turkish film industry get excited and convert their investments in this sector. But, unfortunately, we could not see a film that has trembled Turkey more than Eskiya did.

"Eşkiya" has a very questioning style with superb acting.

The movie is clearly questioning if bandits could be "good", contrary to the known prejudice.;) "Baran", the leading character as a former bandit (eşkiya in Turkish), is someone that represents the 'dying good', still 'pursueing' his one and only love, but the story is still not a love story, on the contrary questioning the todays shallow look on morality, the conflict of east and west in a very Turkish way.

Namely and truly romantic.

Şener Şen, as one of the best actors in Turkish cinema is at his best.

Uğur Yücel, is doing a remarkable job.

You should see this one if not already.

Turkish cinema influenced by "west", thinking of especially the last scene, which is 'still' worth seeing... ;)

Erkan Oğur, a phenomenon for modern Turkish music, is one of the people that "make" the last scene... His name should be remembered if someone talks about this movie anywhere, anytime. ;)

This is one of the classics, unbelievable good play of one of the best actors in Turkey. Just fantastic. I only can say; just watch it first and than decide. Marvellous Excellent Fantastic Extraordinary Great Super Just Turkish. I don't know what to say, they say that I have to full ten lines, but I can't because I don't know what to say, so I will just fill some words on it like good bad evil better sunshine banana badman happy new year football soccer sucker sugar tree three and also like these . I can also can write all and you all, check this out in the league of the extra-ordinary gentleman, at least if you wan so, we can call it even

This is not a common action film, it reminds me, with its quality, a bit of Jules Dassin 's "Rififi". It shows life of people, no matter if they are poor or rich or soul miserables. It goes slowly in a French style but entertaining with pictures of nice Istambul as well as some poor neighborhoods, with a very original plot. Some fiction is also in. Acting of Turkish was also excellent. One learns from the film, even those judged as villains in any society may have kindness and warm sentiments, however bad seeded people die as such. No man is equal to other, each has his own characteristics, but these are not uniform along the life. Love also remains forever when it is a real one.

no movie will ever reach where eskiya stands for turkey. perhaps it's the only movie to be the best movie ever of its native country without a single discussion.

i'm not exaggerating, i'm not overrating. it really is a great movie that touches your heart. sener sen, being the best actor of turkey, can make you cry and he gets a huge help from the great composer erkan ogur. for the closing scene, erkan ogur is playing his own invention: fretless guitar. best film music ever in turkey? must be so.

i won't say things like "if this movie had been taken in Hollywood, it would have been great. if only they had more budget and more famous Hollywood stars had been acting..." because this movie is great as it is! take one frame out and there goes the magic out! it's a complete movie with absolutely no mistakes or something missing.

my only wish would be to have really really English subtitles to make this movie enjoyable for many many others. it's probably one of the most difficult movie translations of all times but there are really really few words to express those said at the end of the movie.

or everybody should learn Turkish and try to understand the part on their own.

The Bandit, Eskiya, seemed like a melodrama movie with lot of things added and blended beautifully, making it worth watching. But for sure it is not the movie that can decorate the Oscars. A light and grasping movie, it has lot of faces for life and is crafted cohesively.

To count for the good points, we can go on with acting of the bandit, the thought of his friend who betrayed him over the concept of love, inability to escape the wrong deeds, silence of the girl, atmosphere for acting and the end scene with the fireworks, enough to win the heart.

To count for the negative points, the film has no objective as such, provides melodrama, false figures, no ideas or analysis, a bit of non-realistic story, dull at a times and tries to prove itself rather than being proved itself. A huge number of such drama movies are available.

Weighted mean from my ratings /my logic may be biased but remains same for all/ will be 7.4/10.

Turgut's "Eskiya," which came out almost a decade ago, is he perfect illustration of how unique Turkish cinema can be when it combines elements of Western crime genre films and Anatolian folk dramas, which have been the basis for Turkish films since Muhsin Ertugrul directed films some 75 years ago. The film has some major flaws, but these are mostly in terms of production. The script and its' direction are fairly crisp, and the acting by veteran comic Sener Sen, in a serious role here, and Ugur Yucel, who was also great in Ali Ozgenturk's "Balalayka," is quite exceptional. The film features a haunting score, deep symbolism (particularly in the final scenes) and timely social themes. I think the later is one of the reasons why it has not been popular with those who are more unfamiliar with Turkey, but it is this very element which makes the film more than just a routine gangster film. The film is also considerably more violent than most Turkish films, though many (particularly '70s films of the late Yilmaz Guney) made for brutal cinematic experiences. Another interesting aspect of this film is that it shows a crime family taking its' lifestyle from Anatolia into Istanbul, which reminded me of how Marlon Brando took up where he left off upon leaving Sicily for New York. "Eskiya/The Bandit" is not as exceptional as either "Yol" or "Uzak/Distant" but it is quite a moving film and I gather since it outgroosed "Titanic" in Turkey, it was quite the crowd-pleaser.The film was also made at a time when film production in Turkey was at an all-time low, but the industry has thankfully picked up considerably.