The Magician (2006 film)

The Magician (Hokkabaz) is a 2006 Turkish comedy-drama film, directed by Cem Yılmaz and Ali Taner Baltacı, about a magician who tours around Turkey with his father and best friend so that he can make enough money for laser eye surgery. The film, which was released on October 20, 2006, was short-listed for Turkey's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards but lost out to Takva.

Production
The film was shot on location in Istanbul, Gallipoli and Eceabat, Turkey.

Plot
Iskender is a juggler, but to everyone besides himself and his childhood friend, Maradona, he is actually a magician. The two friends undertake a great deal of risk by including Sait in their tour program while being forced to escape Istanbul. Moreover, Father Sait had stopped appreciating Iskender years ago. While the tour brings them much closer, it also results in a magnificent falling-out. Iskender, Maradona, and Sait keep coming back together and falling out with their fellow traveler, Fatma.

Cast

 * Cem Yılmaz as İskender Tünaydın
 * Mazhar Alanson as Sait Tünaydın
 * Özlem Tekin as Fatma Nur Gaye Türksönmez
 * Tuna Orhan as Maradona - Orhan Direk

Release
The film opened in 378 screens across Turkey on October 20, 2006 at number one in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $1,462,608 and was later released across a number of European territories.

Box Office
The film was number one at the Turkish box office for two weeks running and has made a total worldwide gross of $9,146,764.

Reviews
Todd Brown, writing for Twitch Film, notes that this film, looks to be a beautifully shot piece of work, and that, while it was impossible not to see an awful lot of Mel Brooks influence on [the writer-director's previous film] G.O.R.A. this one sees Yilmaz in a much more restrained mode that I think plays a fair bit better.

Awards

 * 2007 Ankara International Film Festival Most Promising Actor: Tuna Orhan (Won)
 * 2007 Brussels International Independent Film Festival Best Actor (International Competition): Cem Yilmaz (Won)
 * 2007 Istanbul International Film Festival Golden Tulip: Cem Yilmaz & Ali Taner Baltaci (Nominated)
 * 2007 Sadri Alışık Cinema and Theater Award for Best Actor: Cem Yilmaz (Nominated)