I have seen this movie three times so far with intervals of a few years and got amazed more every time. I am Turkish and I was a teenager during the time period portrayed in the movie. I can say with great confidence that those days were presented with a great accuracy in many ways. It gives me an opportunity to evaluate the events of that period. The director (Serif Goren not Yilmaz Guney because Yilmaz Guney was a fugitive during the time the movie was shot) does a great job capturing the mosaic of Turkish culture during the trips of the 5 prisoners on leave for a week. The trip starts from Istanbul - from north-west and ends in the south-east. Editing job was not so great but it still kept the continuity of the story. On the other hand dubbing was terrible - perhaps the only bad thing about the movie - still you have to be a native Turkish speaker to see this flaw. I think the biggest contribution of Yilmaz Guney to this film was writing the major part of the script and producing this great film. A few facts: Yilmaz Guney was a fugitive who shot a judge during his trial. So, He was not a political prisoner. He wasn't a great actor but he was a good screen writer. There is not a city called Kurdistan in Turkey there never was. The people shown in the movie are Turkish citizens. People of Turkey are not just Kurds and non-Kurds there are tens of other ethnicities live in Turkey and they make the Turkish nation as a whole. It's amazing to see some people are still judging a whole nation by just seeing a movie.
And one goof: The guy in the ferry was drinking RAKI - the famous Turkish liquor- however during dubbing it was referred to as brandy.
And one goof: The guy in the ferry was drinking RAKI - the famous Turkish liquor- however during dubbing it was referred to as brandy.