Beyaz Melek

Mahsun Kirmizigul's first film as a director looks at abandoned old people through two brothers who end up in a nursing home after their father falls ill with cancer. The cast leans on Turkish stage heavyweights, Yildiz Kenter and Arif Erkin Guzelbeyoglu among them, with Sarp Apak carrying the younger half. It opened on 16 November 2007 and drew over two million admissions, making it the most watched domestic release of the year. The emotional register is deliberately high; Kirmizigul never hides that he wants the audience in tears and scores the film accordingly, which is exactly where critics and box office parted ways. Who it is for: viewers who want Turkish melodrama played straight, with a moral reckoning inside the family. Who it is not for: anyone looking for restraint or distance.