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Wrong Rosary (Uzak İhtimal)

Wrong Rosary (Uzak İhtimal)

Movie · 2009 · 4 people

Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun directed the Turkish drama Uzak İhtimal, known internationally as Wrong Rosary. It was his first feature, opened in Turkey on 9 October 2009, and runs about 90 minutes. The film won a Tiger award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, making it the first Turkish film to be honoured there. It was also part of the programme of the 28th Istanbul International Film Festival and competed in the national feature competition of the 46th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.

The story begins when Musa, a new muezzin from the provinces, takes a post at a mosque in Galata and moves into the building's annex. The district was once a Christian quarter, and his neighbour across the way is Clara, a novice nun. From the moment he first sees her, Musa looks for ways to talk to her and quietly follows her. His pursuit brings him together with Yakup, an Istanbul bookseller from an aristocratic family who is searching for the daughter he had with a woman he lived with long ago. As the lives of the three cross, events unfold that could only happen in a city like Istanbul. Nadir Sarıbacak, Görkem Yeltan and Ersan Uysal share the leading roles.

DirectorMahmut Fazıl Coşkun

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Cast

Görkem Yeltan Görkem Yeltan Actor · 49 years old Clara Nadir Sarıbacak Nadir Sarıbacak Actor · 49 years old Musa Rahman Altın Can Kolukısa Can Kolukısa Actor · died at 92

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Through different eyes

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

Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun's debut trusts a structure that brings three worlds with nothing in common together in one neighbourhood: a muezzin from the provinces, a novice nun and a bookseller looking for his daughter. The risk with interlocking stories like this is that the encounters start to look like coincidences arranged for the script's convenience, and in my view the film doesn't fully escape it: Yakup's strand is tied in more loosely than Musa's search. In return, the director builds the story through space and glances rather than big confrontations, and this is a restrained debut that doesn't pad its ninety minutes. Being the first Turkish film to win a Tiger award at Rotterdam shows that this plain but confident language found its audience.

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

The film's most interesting choice is its neighbourhood. Galata, once a Christian quarter and home to many cultures, is an almost ready-made stage for putting a muezzin from the provinces face to face with a novice nun. In my view the film is less interested in the difference of faith than in the loneliness and curiosity of someone newly arrived in the big city. Adding Yakup, a bookseller from an aristocratic family, opens the picture onto class and generation as well: the heir of old Istanbul and the newcomer meet on the same street. No surprise, then, that one Turkish critic read the film as a step forward in how conservatism is understood in Turkish cinema.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

The story isn't built on violence or fights; it's a calm, serious drama. But it's hard to say it suits everyone in the house. It moves slowly and leaves a lot unsaid, so children will most likely get bored. A muezzin following his neighbour, a novice nun, may also raise questions for some older viewers, so be ready to talk about it. Better suited to adults and older teens who like quiet festival films.

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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