Polizei

Şerif Gören's 1988 film follows Ali Ekber, who works as a rubbish collector in Berlin and assists at a theatre. When he gets hold of a police uniform used on stage, he puts it on and walks the streets; the uniform gives him, for the first time, the feeling of being seen and taken seriously. The idea is sharp: a man invisible as a migrant gaining authority through a costume alone, and how fragile that is. Kemal Sunal's comedy sits in a bitter place here; beneath the ridiculous situations there is constant exclusion. The daily life of Turkish workers in Germany is built in detail. The ending is harsh and breaks the expectation of comedy. Who it's for: viewers interested in Turkish cinema and stories of migration. Who it's not for: anyone wanting pure comedy, or who dislikes sorrowful endings.