User Reviews

Muzaffer İzgü's "Zıkkımın "Kökü" is one of the sweetest books in Turkish literature. İzgü tells the story of his kidulthood in the book. When I saw the names of the awards that the movie received along with the still pictures at the back pages of the book I knew I had to see this movie. To relate to this story, I guess one should have a similar childhood experience to what İzgü tells. I mean if you were a child who had everything you wanted, I guess it would be difficult for you to find something that you can associate yourself with. Muzo (Emre Akyıldız) is a smart kid. His biggest dream is to study to become a teacher. Unfortunately, he comes from a poor family. His father Amet Efendi (Menderes Samancılar) is sort of an inventor in Muzo's eyes. Out of destitute, he makes up expedient substitutes for his family's needs. He makes the most cumbersome wooden-soled shoes for his sons. Since he can't buy coal, he uses a mixture of coal and water and puts the clay into a mould to let them dry and use in winter. In spite of all the misery around him, Muzo is just decided to study and become a 'big man'. That's why he can't get himself to marry the girl he loves. Maybe I just set my expectations so high because of the awards the movie received or maybe because I just liked the book so much but the movie did not really give me a bit of the fun of the book. What makes this story lovely and cute is Muzaffer Üzgü's style. You just love the fact that the writer does not give up on 'humor' while he was telling this heart-rending story. For instance, there is this scene when Muzo delivers the class book to the head-teacher. He is so overjoyed that he is the one to deliver the book but when he walks into the administrative room he just totters because of his cumbersome shoes. The inspector spills his tea and Muzo loses his shoe. In the book, just because he is too ashamed to ask for his shoe he just leaves the room but he knows that he just can't leave without taking his shoe back. When he cries outside, they ask him what he is still doing there. When they find his shoe, the moment just warms your heart. There are so many skipped moments like that in the movie. The movie sounds so fast-paced for someone who has read the book. Besides, the characters in the book speak in the local dialect. The characters in the movie sound like someone who speak in pure Istanbul Turkish. Though Emre Akyıldız's portrayal of Muzo is convincing enough, the child actors and actresses do not really give a proper performance. At times they sound so hammy. Do yourself a favor and enjoy the book and never mind the many awards this movie got.