"Çarpisma" or "Crash" is a Turkish live action short film released back in 2005 and this was written and directed by Umut Aral. It was quite a success, so I am definitely a bit surprised that Aral was so unprolific in the last almost 15 years, but then again imdb may just be missing entries of his work. Anyway, this must be among the 5 most famous Turkish short films of the 21st century. It runs for under 18 minutes and tells us the story of a thief and what happens when he enters the world of big crimes together with his two new friends. You could say the first half is all that goes right for him/them, while the second half is all that goes when a bunch of other really dangerous criminals enters the picture and police gets on him too. Early on this seemed like a way lighter film, but even if it is mostly a crime drama, maybe crime thriller, there are elements of very dark comedy in here frequently too. Enjoyable stuff, gritty yet entertaining. Somebody send this Aral guy to Hollywood asap. I also liked the way the coincidence element was elaborated on at the very end. So get yourself a nice pair of subtitles and watch this one if the genre pleases you. I thought it was a well-rounded effort with good acting, writing and directing (and everything else). Thumbs up.
3 Reviews
Umut gives hopes!
filozof3 April 2010
Carpisma (Crash) is the 17 min long short-film of Umut Aral. Watching the film though I mostly felt that the short is rather a promo-trailer of a feature-length. It is still a nice film and beautifully shot. Umut is a promising director, and I'm sure he'll soon shoot his first feature-film (and to my knowledge he prepares for one nowadays). Carpisma has a clever plot where the story brings three crooks together by a twist of fate. Musta is hired by a local godfather to kill Cem. He waits Cem in front of Central Station, while Ali is being chased by police and he bumps into two of them. They become a trio and start working together. But nothing is as it seems. Ali thinking of himself as a crime master-mind doesn't have even the slightest idea what kind of men he is dealing with. And the past and hidden agendas is not that easy to leave behind. Fate or plot? What brings the characters together? Or is fate something plot-like? Umut gives hopes that he will do good things!
Fascinating thriller
ardelacampagne10 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Carpisma is a fascinating thriller, with a stellar cast. Kivanc Tatlitug is charismatic, intense and totally immersed into his character which he portrays with such depth and subtlety. Elcin Sangu is very endearing and has a radiant presence, Onur Saylak is an ideal multi-layered villain, providing at some point, after his conversion, much-needed comic relief. All the secondary characters are good and convincing. The whole plot is very noir, revolving around intertwining relationships, love and hate, loyalty and treason, damnation and redemption. The darkest character, Cansiz, is particularly misogynistic and, frankly, the least interesting one. His psychopathy is a bit worn out. Thankfully, Zeynep foresees what the future holds for her and her loved ones and gives them something to hold onto and a path toward the light.
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