Yahsi Bati (2009) Reviews

• How the West Was Fun...

  dilarasdad2011-01-19

  Having to wait until this feature came out on DVD was no disappointment, just be prepared to read subtitles - which is OK with me. Being quite familiar with some of the idiosyncrasies of Turkish life from a foreigners view, I had a blast watching this collaborative production mix some of the finer points of the old west with the comedic lifestyle of a few Ottoman Turks making their first diplomatic trek to the Wild West. As always, I enjoy the humor of Cem Yilmaz, but in order to really enjoy this film, one has to be quite familiar with the 'finer points' of living amongst our Turkish brethren – it's the little things that mean a lot. 'Chuck!' You know what I mean...

• You will love it if you are smart enough and you are from Turkey:)

  demet-ykuday2010-11-27

  I don't know what people expect from a comedy movie. Like one of the reviews says; should it be dark? should it give an important message? should be ironic? should it make fun of certain things? should it be about human mind, or human beings at all? No!! Definitely no! I cannot say I liked other comedy movies of Cem Yilmaz except "Hokkabaz" if you consider it a comedy. I am a fan of his stand-up shows, I really like the things that he makes fun of and the way he makes fun of those things. When I watched "GORA" and "AROG", I couldn't find them smart although he is a very smart guy. But, this movie is different:) You must be from Turkey to understand everything. There are other things that people not from Turkey will find funny and interesting, but in order to laugh - I mean, really laugh- you must know how Turkish people, especially people in 30s, perceive certain concepts in American culture. I always thought that those who really like Cem Yilmaz's style are somehow familiar from the world that he is from, i.e., with a certain level of education, familiar with previous work as a cartoonist or similar works. This movie is definitely his work; smart, funny in his style.. No messages, no irony (at a serious level at least).. You will laugh and laugh only. It is all about the cliché; the things about America that my generation in Turkey talks, laughs, or thinks, the things in American culture that seem different to us or we had a hard time to understand. It is not making fun of American culture or anything. It is making fun of how he perceives things. But you should be careful, as one of the other reviews says, there are a lot of funny stuff and it is difficult to catch all.

• recommended for real people, not for the film critics who has no idea about the world

  TigerMoods2010-01-02

  People who think that they know about movies usually review comedy movies as disappointments unless they are dark... "Yahsi Bati" is not dark at all so get ready to hear comments like "it's a big disappointment" or "it's toilet humor"... Cem Yilmaz is making fun of clichés for years, that's what he used to do as a stand up comedian and that's exactly the genre he is successfully making films for years now. He swears a lot just to show that we are swearing a lot in our lives but we are not tolerant to hear people swearing in films (such a hypocrisy)... He also makes fun of stupid clichés in the type of film he is making (for example western clichés such as bouncing bullets or horse whisperer in Yahsi Bati)... Playing with the meanings of the words is his other method but it is no different than what he had done for years as a stand up comedian... just go and watch the film, it was brilliantly shot, well acted and laughter guaranteed...

• So many Jokes that you won't be able to catch them all!

  osmantalu2010-01-07

  People who don't understand Comedy won't like this movie. But if you're an avid fan of comedy, you must watch Yahsi Bati for sure. First of all there is trick in the movie title. Yashi Bati means "handsome west", where normally it is "Vahsi Bati", which means "Wild West". This movie takes place in 19th century, where Ottoman Empire Sultan appoints 2 of his men to take a beautiful diamond of enormous size as a gift to the American President. You might guess what adventures these 2 men would face the moment they step into the American Wild West. This a truly beautifully made cowboy movie with added Turkish humor by Cem Yilmaz, the funniest stand up comedian and actor in Turkey for the last decade. He took Turks to space and made fun of traditional alien movies with G.O.R.A, then he was unwilling sent back in time to Stone Age in A.R.O.G and tried to fast-forward the first civilization while having clichés from Jurassic park and now he is in the American Wild West. If you're not Turkish and would still want to watch these movies, GORA and AROG are English subtitled and you'll still get similar fun experience. As of Yahsi Bati, the movie was filmed just outside Istanbul but really feels like Texas in 1800's. In addition Decor and outfits are amazing. There is too much swearing in the movie but they are all well configured. I would strongly recommend this movie.

• Great fusion of Turkish humor with a fiction story

  ilkorur2011-04-26

  For those who think that comedy movies are only some Jackie Chan stuff, it is quite normal for them to score this low. For me, this is more like a Top Secret, Airplane type of movie. The movie makes good use of the cultural Turkish humour to the maximum like other Cem Yilmaz comedies, therefore foreigners may find it difficult to follow some things going on in the movie. It plays on the contrast of having a couple of Ottoman officers in Wild West and the cultural gap between the two civilizations. Sometimes, for the sake of filling in the gaps in the story, the pace slows down. I believe, if they could have simplified the story and remove that low pace sections, it would have been one great comedy.