The Magician (2006 film)

The Magician (Turkish: Hokkabaz) is a 2006 Turkish comedy-drama film, directed by Cem Yılmaz and Ali Taner Baltacı, about a magician who tours around Turkey with his father and best friend so that he can make enough money for laser eye surgery. The film, which was released on October 20, 2006 (2006-10-20), was short-listed for Turkey's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards but lost out to Takva.[1]

The Magician
DVD Cover
TurkishHokkabaz
Directed byCem Yılmaz
Ali Taner Baltacı
Written byCem Yılmaz
Produced byNecati Akpinar
StarringCem Yılmaz
Mazhar Alanson
Özlem Tekin
Tuna Orhan
CinematographyUğur İçbak
Edited byEngin Öztürk
Music byOzan Çolakoğlu
Production
company
Beşiktaş Kültür Merkezi
Distributed byKenDa Film
Release date
  • 20 October 2006 (2006-10-20)
Running time
119 mins
CountryTurkey
LanguageTurkish
Box office$9,146,764

Production

The film was shot on location in Istanbul, Gallipoli and Eceabat, Turkey.[2]

Plot

Iskender is a juggler, but to everyone besides himself and his childhood friend, Maradona, he is actually a magician. The two friends undertake a great deal of risk by including Sait in their tour program while being forced to escape Istanbul. Moreover, Father Sait had stopped appreciating Iskender years ago. While the tour brings them much closer, it also results in a magnificent falling-out. Iskender, Maradona, and Sait keep coming back together and falling out with their fellow traveler, Fatma.

Cast

Release

The film opened in 378 screens across Turkey on 20 October 2006 (2006-10-20) at number one in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $1,462,608 and was later released across a number of European territories.[3]

Opening weekend gross
DateTerritoryScreensRankGross
20 October 2006 (2006-10-20) Turkey 378 1 $1,462,608
25 October 2006 (2006-10-25) Belgium 6 19 $38,916
26 October 2006 (2006-10-26) Germany 52 12 $198,149
26 October 2006 (2006-10-26) Austria 4 13 $41,780
26 October 2006 (2006-10-26) Netherlands 17 14 $53,749
27 October 2006 (2006-10-27) United Kingdom 4 24 $34,704

Reception

Box Office

The film was number one at the Turkish box office for two weeks running and has made a total worldwide gross of $9,146,764.[3]

Reviews

Todd Brown, writing for Twitch Film, notes that this film, looks to be a beautifully shot piece of work, and that, while it was impossible not to see an awful lot of Mel Brooks influence on [the writer-director's previous film] G.O.R.A. this one sees Yilmaz in a much more restrained mode that I think plays a fair bit better.[4]

Awards

See also

References
  1. "'Takva' Named Turkish Entry for 80th Oscars". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  2. "Filming locations for Hokkabaz". IMDB. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  3. "Hokkabaz". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  4. Brown, Todd. "Hokkabaz (The Conjurer): The Latest From Cem Yilmaz of GORA". twitch. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  5. "Sadri Alışık Award Nominees Announced". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
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