Beyaz Melek

Popular Turkish arabesque singer-songwriter and sometime T.V. actor Mahsun Kırmızıgül ("Aşka Sürgün" & "Zalım") made his directorial debut with this sceptically received melodrama which picked up the Remi Award for Best Foreign Film at the 41st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.

Ali (Mahsun Kırmızıgül) and Reşat (Sarp Apak) bring their ailing father Ahmet (Arif Erkin) for treatment to Istanbul where they encounter the titular Melek (Yıldız Kenter) and the other wacky residents of an old people's home for a east-west culture clash which highlights the emptiness of Western values.

The ethereal and somewhat overly theatrical Yıldız Kenter heads up an all-star cast of veteran Turkish character actors which includes a powerful performance from Arif Erkin, a suppressed comic turn from Nejat Uygur and the ever present Erol Günaydın, while Mahsun Kırmızıgül and Sarp Apak remain in the background.

The debut director was not warmly welcomed by the Turkish film critics who viewed his star-laden debut vehicle as little more than a commercial enterprise but despite the unintentionally hilarious excess of sentimentality also present in his musical output he has managed to craft an acceptable first film with the promise of greater things to come.

"And did you know that there are angels in every raindrop that falls from the sky?"