Behzat Ç.: Ankara Is on Fire

A grocer, a visa officer at the German consulate and the interior minister are murdered. The minister's killing throws the country into turmoil: demonstrations against police violence begin in the streets and raids follow. Behzat is not at the bureau; a new superior named Himmet has been appointed and is calculating what handing the file to counter-terrorism will get him. The subject is not the murders but whom an investigation serves. What the series has said from the start continues here: the question is not who did it but who decides where the file is attached. The form is familiar from the show. Ankara in winter, long scenes in cars, profane and clipped dialogue. Despite being shot for cinema the image does not noticeably expand; the production keeps to its own register. It was made after the third season ended and released on 1 November 2013. The protests against police violence inside the film reached audiences a few months after the events of that summer, and the timing directly shaped how it was received in Turkey. Erdal Beşikçioğlu plays Behzat and Nejat İşler plays Harun. Serdar Akar directs. Who it is for: viewers who have watched the series. Who it is not for: anyone entering here; the film introduces no one and assumes the relationships are known.