The Postman

Adem is the neighbourhood postman and he is in love with Sevtap. Sevtap has not married by thirty, nobody has asked for her, and she has settled for Adem. But there is an obstacle: her older brother Latif, raised in Germany, convinced of his own importance, and in fact a complete fool. When the two send a telegram in the name of Sevtap's father, things get away from them and the whole neighbourhood starts turning around a lie. Memduh Ün's film uses the familiar shape of 1980s Yeşilçam comedy: a small lie, a growing misunderstanding, and the collective reaction of the neighbourhood. The humour comes from the way Latif is built out of the returning-migrant figure, and from the postman's helplessness. Kemal Sunal plays Adem, Fatma Girik plays Sevtap, and Erdal Özyağcılar plays Latif. Who it's for: Viewers who like Yeşilçam comedy, Kemal Sunal films, and neighbourhood narratives. Who it's not for: The production means are limited and the pace is uneven. Some of the jokes are also too crude by present-day measure.