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Five Minarets in New York (New York'ta Beş Minare)

Five Minarets in New York (New York'ta Beş Minare)

Movie · 2010 · 15 people

Mahsun Kırmızıgül wrote and directed the 2010 action thriller New York'ta Beş Minare (Five Minarets in New York) and also takes a lead role. Its title comes from the folk song Bitlis'te Beş Minare. Produced by Boyut Film, it premiered at Istanbul's Kanyon on November 4, 2010 and opened on November 5. Its first three days brought 703,330 viewers, the seventh best opening, and it topped the 2010 Turkish box office with roughly 31.5 million lira. In the US it was released as Act of Vengeance.

The story moves between Istanbul, New York and Bitlis, half of it in America. A wanted fundamentalist leader code-named "Deccal" is reported caught in New York. The organisation's two best police officers go to collect him. It looks simple, but nothing is as it seems. It questions the paranoia toward Islam that grew after 9/11. Haluk Bilginer plays Hacı Gümüş, Kırmızıgül plays Fırat and Mustafa Sandal plays Acar, with Robert Patrick (Becker), Gina Gershon (Maria) and Danny Glover (Marcus) in the cast.

After Beyaz Melek and Güneşi Gördüm, Kırmızıgül again chose a large-scale story. One critic called it the season's most ambitious domestic production but missed the strong character conflicts of his earlier two films.

DirectorMahsun Kırmızıgül
Production companyBoyut Film
Five Minarets in New York (New York'ta Beş Minare) Five Minarets in New York (New York'ta Beş Minare) Five Minarets in New York (New York'ta Beş Minare)

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Cast

Danny Glover Danny Glover Actor · 80 years old Marcus Gina Gershon Gina Gershon Film actor · 64 years old Maria Haluk Bilginer Haluk Bilginer Actor · 72 years old Hacı Mahsun Kırmızıgül Mahsun Kırmızıgül Singer · 58 years old Fırat Mustafa Sandal Mustafa Sandal Singer · 56 years old Robert Patrick Robert Patrick Film actor · 68 years old Becker Engin Altan Düzyatan Engin Altan Düzyatan Actor · 47 years old Timur Salih Kalyon Salih Kalyon Actor · 80 years old Zafer Ergin Zafer Ergin Actor · 84 years old Murat Ünalmış Murat Ünalmış Actor · 45 years old Eşref Kolçak Eşref Kolçak Actor · died at 92 Ali Sürmeli Ali Sürmeli Actor · 67 years old Onur Ünsal Onur Ünsal Actor · 41 years old Suna Selen Actor · 87 years old Hüseyin Avni Danyal Hüseyin Avni Danyal Actor · 64 years old

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Through different eyes

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

New York'ta Beş Minare sets out to question the paranoia towards Islam that grew after 9/11, through a story that moves between Istanbul, New York and Bitlis. Taking its title from the folk song Bitlis'te Beş Minare reads like an attempt to tie a local cultural memory to a global climate of fear. Bringing American and Turkish actors into one story is a meaningful way to make visible how the two societies see each other. Yet a film that criticises prejudice risks producing its own stereotypes when it draws good and evil in stark lines; the strength of the message depends on the depth of the characters. Its place at the top of the 2010 domestic box office also shows how topical the subject felt to audiences.

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

Two cops sent to collect a wanted leader, a job that looks simple, and a plot where nothing is what it seems: solid ground for an action thriller. Having half the story play out in America, with names like Robert Patrick and Danny Glover, scales things up. But 116 minutes is long, and the pace drops whenever the drama gets heavy.

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

After Beyaz Melek and Güneşi Gördüm, Mahsun Kırmızıgül once again opts for a large-scale story, this time wearing three hats at once as writer, director and lead actor. The ambition shows: a narrative spread across three cities, an international cast and the promises of the action-thriller genre. But that ambition comes at a price. As one critic noted, the strong character conflicts of his previous two films are missing here; even a weighty figure like Haluk Bilginer's Hacı Gümüş rarely becomes more than a carrier of the thesis. A structure that wavers between genre picture and message film makes the 116 minutes feel longer than they need to. Drawing over 700,000 viewers in its first three days, it aims high, but the result is mixed.

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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