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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Asia Pacific World Turkish cinema shrugs off cliches over Kurdish issue AFP - Monday, December 21 Send IM Story Print A scene from the Turkish movie 'Nefes' in Antalya. Violence in the cities, fighting in the hills, as tensions re-emerge around the Kurdish question, two films have emerged with the aim of taking the heat out of the controversial subject. ISTANBUL (AFP) - – Turkish cinema has made its maiden attempts at a cool-headed look at the bloody Kurdish insurgency in the country's southeast, with one film outshining even Hollywood blockbusters and drawing praise from both the army and pacifists. With no less than 2.4 million viewers in two months, "Nefes: Vatan Sagolsun" -- or "Breath: Long Live the Motherland" -- ranks third at the 2009 Turkish box office, far ahead of major new releases like "2012" or the sixth "Harry Potter" film. The new-found urge to zoom in on the human aspects of the 25-year conflict, beyond cliches of patriotism and military heroism, comes against the backdrop of nationalist frenzy and violence in the streets. But it is also part of a passionate debate in Turkey about what went wrong and how the bloodshed should be stopped. "Nefes" is "the first truly anti-war movie in Turkish cinema," for film critic Attila Dorsay. "People went to see what their children, cousins and parents went through in the army. The film touched them directly," he said. Directed by novice Levent Semerci, the movie tells about the anguished life at a garrison in remote mountains in the 1990s, at the peak of the conflict between the army and separatist Kurdish rebels. The conflict has claimed some 45,000 lives since 1984, led to gross rights violations on both sides and dealt a huge blow to the southeast region's already meager economy. In a rare achievement in a country where public opinion is usually sharply polarised, "Nefes" has won applause from both the army and pacifists. Praising the film's spotlight on the hardship of military duty, army chief Ilker Basbug said it was "one of the best films ever made on the struggle against terrorism", while the anti-military daily Taraf hailed it as a masterpiece that "places the beauty of life against war". "Nefes'" power lies in its realism as the creators abandon the image of the invincible soldier to depict the fears haunting fragile youths in the line of fire, their yearning for happiness and their deaths without glory. In one memorable episode, a soldier daydreaming about his girlfriend whispers: "My motherland is you." Another production that has drawn much praise, "Iki Dil Bir Bavul", or Two Languages, Once Suitcase, has attracted 78,000 people in eight weeks, an impressive showing for a documentary. For one year, the two directors followed the life of Emre, a young Turkish teacher on his first appointment in a Kurdish village where none of the students speak Turkish and his efforts to teach them the language bear little fruit. "After two months, Emre started to turn inwards, isolated from the village and the whole world... We realised he was becoming more and more nationalist," co-director Ozgur Dogan said. "There was a problem in that class and both children and teacher were victims. We think the Kurdish problem starts there in the classroom," he said. A third film recounting the dramatic story of a Kurdish family torn apart by the conflict was recently selected as Turkey's submission for the Academy Awards' best foreign film. "Gunesi Gordum", or I Saw the Sun, an emotional appeal against discrimination and prejudice by popular Kurdish singer and director Mahsun Kirmizigul, ranks second at the box office list with nearly 2.5 million viewers since March. All three films have hit the screen amid a government drive to expand Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode separatist sentiment, mend fences with the Kurds and end the bloodshed. But street violence flared again over the past month, taking three lives, as jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan claimed his prison conditions have deteriorated and the country's main Kurdish party was banned in court. Kurdish militants responded by killing seven soldiers in an ambush. Still, director Dogan believes that a honest look at the conflict will not be in vain. "It would be presumptuous to think movies can change things," he said. "But when people start to understand each other, they overcome their prejudices and political convictions. And then they become capable of empathy." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles "Clueless" star Brittany Murphy dead at 32 Reuters - 2 hours 13 minutes ago Natalie White wins 'Survivor,' collects $1M prize AP - Monday, December 21 "Alvin and the Chipmunks" sequel hits flat note Reuters - Monday, December 21 Turkish cinema shrugs off cliches over Kurdish issue AFP - Monday, December 21 Knightley picks unrewarding play for London debut Reuters - Monday, December 21 News Search Top Stories Thousands warned to flee Philippine volcano zone Christmas chaos as cold cripples Eurostar trains Dutch sports carmaker Spyker makes new bid for Saab London Stock Exchange set to take over rival: reports Wall Street hesitates in face of new economic realities More Top Stories » Related Full Coverage Hollywood NewsGet the latest Hollywood news All Full Coverage » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Dwindling roster of sponsors for Tiger Woods Wall Street hesitates in face of new economic realities 'Avatar' director Cameron gets Hollywood star Christmas chaos as cold cripples Eurostar trains Tiger's wife Elin seeking divorce: reports More Most Viewed » Tiger's wife Elin seeking divorce: reports Virgin unveils spaceship to offer space tourism Brazilian confesses to sticking needles into two-year-old Tiger Woods' girlfriend apologizes in TV interview Woods' mother-in-law rushed to hospital More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! 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