Losers' Club on the Road (Kaybedenler Kulübü Yolda)

Losers' Club on the Road (Kaybedenler Kulübü Yolda) (translated)

Movie · 2018 · 7 people

Mixing comedy and drama, the Turkish film Kaybedenler Kulübü Yolda follows up the 2011 film Kaybedenler Kulübü, which centred on the radio duo Kaan Çaydamlı and Mete Avunduk. It opened across Türkiye on 16 March 2018, reaching roughly 570,000 viewers and taking about 7.3 million lira at the box office. Mehmet Ada Öztekin both wrote and directed it.

The story starts at the end of a cheerful holiday in Olympos, spent with a large group of friends from Kadıköy. Kaan and Mete hop on their motorcycles and ride back towards Istanbul, and along the way they are reminded, rather harshly, that journeys and relationships never follow the plan. Nejat İşler plays Kaan and Yiğit Özşener plays Mete. Hande Doğandemir, Rıza Kocaoğlu, Sarp Akkaya, Merve Çağıran as Gaye and Şafak Başkaya as Brit complete the cast.

TMC Film is the production company, with Erol Avcı as producer. Sedat Yücel was the cinematographer and Toygar Işıklı wrote the music. Shooting began in October 2017 and finished on 17 November 2017. The first screening took place on 13 March 2018 at the Rexx Cinema in Kadıköy, the district where the story begins and ends, and UIP Türkiye handled distribution.

DirectorMehmet Ada Öztekin
Production companyTMC Film

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Sequels accept living in the shadow of what came before; Kaybedenler Kulübü Yolda does so by returning to the radio duo of the 2011 film. The motorbike ride back to Istanbul is a natural skeleton for testing the two characters' relationship. The risk of the road-movie structure is staying episodic; if scenes do not carry each other, even 96 minutes can feel long. Mehmet Ada Öztekin both writing and directing promises a consistent tone, and the pairing of Nejat İşler and Yiğit Özşener ought to be the film's main support. The frame that begins and ends in Kadıköy gives the film a local identity; the real question is whether that familiarity says anything new.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Returning to the story of the two radio friends is a kind of reunion for those who loved them. A film that blends comedy and drama and painfully reminds us that journeys and relationships never go to plan recalls, for me, the bittersweet comedies of old Turkish cinema. Kadıköy, the district where the story begins and ends, is a lovely frame. Those expecting plenty of laughter, though, may find this gentle melancholy a little bitter.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Kaybedenler Kulübü Yolda is one of those films that uses Kadıköy almost as an identity: the story begins and ends there. The radio duo's lives may reflect the friendships and uncertainties of a certain urban generation. The holiday in Olimpos and the motorbike trip show the appeal of escaping everyday duties; the film also brings the cost of that escape to mind. Looked at critically, it speaks to its own circle, and how well it speaks to those outside is open to debate.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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