Dizi Planet
Cologne Republic (Kolonya Cumhuriyeti)

Cologne Republic (Kolonya Cumhuriyeti) (translated)

Movie · 2017 · 6 people

Turkish comedy Kolonya Cumhuriyeti ("Cologne Republic") reached audiences on 21 April 2017. It runs 110 minutes, was made by BKM Film and distributed by Mars Entertainment Group. It is the first feature film of Murat Kepez, known as the screenwriter of Dedemin Fişi and Çarşı Pazar; he wrote the script with Eray Akyamaner and Sıla Çetindağ and directed it himself. It sold 1,114,318 tickets in Turkey, grossing about 12.8 million lira, among 2017's standout local comedies.

Where would an alien land on Earth? In Kolonya, of course. In this town of five thousand, mayor Peker Mengen has won his election with promises that will be hard to keep. The visitor is welcomed warmly, but an accident during the celebrations wrecks the spaceship, so the alien must stay and a laughter-filled adventure with the locals begins. America takes notice, the town becomes something like an independent state, and America declares war on it.

Çağlar Çorumlu plays Peker Mengen, and Büşra Pekin plays his wife Mualla, who is also Agent Smith. Uğur Bilgin is Bahtiyar, Mahir İpek is Hilmi, Ersin Korkut is Salih, Öner Ateş is reporter Ümit and Hamza Yazıcı is the alien Yasin. Necati Akpınar produced; Özgür Eken shot it; Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç scored it.

DirectorMurat Kepez
Production companyBKM Film

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Büşra Pekin Büşra Pekin Actor · 44 years old Mualla / Agent Smith Çağlar Çorumlu Çağlar Çorumlu Actor · 48 years old Peker Mengen Uğur Bilgin Uğur Bilgin Actor · 46 years old Bahtiyar Ersin Korkut Ersin Korkut Actor · 48 years old Salih Hamza Yazıcı Hamza Yazıcı Actor · 34 years old Uzaylı Yasin Mahir İpek Mahir İpek Actor · 54 years old Hilmi

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

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

Murat Kepez's first feature as director opens on an absurd premise: an alien arriving on Earth lands in Kolonya, a town of five thousand. An idea like that either grows with a coherent inner logic or turns into a string of sketches. The script builds a solid dramatic pretext by wrecking the spaceship and tying the alien to the town, and the escalation all the way to America declaring war raises the satirical stakes. Still, so large an escalation across 110 minutes threatens to loosen the structure, and the film sometimes loses its rhythm. The chemistry between Çağlar Çorumlu and Büşra Pekin, who plays both Mualla and Agent Smith, is what really carries it. The popular-comedy vein you would expect from the writer of Dedemin Fişi is felt here too.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

An alien, a spaceship smashed to pieces and, in the end, America declaring war on a small town: as ideas go, it is crazy and fun. Büşra Pekin's Agent Smith side adds a dash of spy flavour too. But remember, everything is built for laughs. Expect explosions and chases and you will be disappointed; if you are open to absurd comedy, you will laugh easily.

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

Kolonya Cumhuriyeti pokes fun at the local politics of a small town. Mayor Peker Mengen, elected on promises that will be hard to keep, is a figure we all know from election seasons. The townspeople welcoming the alien with affection recalls a provincial culture where curiosity about strangers and hospitality go hand in hand. The town turning into something like an independent state, and America declaring war on it, can be read as satire about the relationship between a great power and a small place. Even so, rather than sharpening its satire, the film mostly takes refuge in safe entertainment.

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

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments