Contemporary Turkish Cinema

Takva / A Man's Fear of God

Contact Information

Muharrem, a humble introvert, has worked quietly as a simple clerk for over 30 years in the same traditional İstanbul neighborhood where he was born. A devout Muslim, he strictly adheres to Islamic doctrine and leads a solitary life of prayer and sexualabstinence. Muharrem’s extraordinary piety attracts the attention of the leaders of arich and powerful religious group. His acclaimed trustworthiness and conscientiousness inspire them to offer him an administrative post as rent collector for their numerous properties. Provided with new clothes, a cell phone and a computer, muharrem is thrown into the modern world, which he has successfully avoided for so long. His naïve eyes soon witness hypocritical attitudes. To make matters worse, Muharrem’s inner peace is unnerved by the tormenting image of a seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams, both night and day. Muharrem’s beliefs are upset by temptation and the modern world, causing his fear of god to quickly eat away at his senses.

From The Press

Opening with a quote from the Koran and ending with a verse from communist poet Nazım Hikmet, Takva (a man's fear of god) places its story in parentheses between spirituality and materialism by positioning against each other a text representing pure faith and a verse from the great poet who represents a worldview based on materialism and dialectic. The movie also squeezes the protagonist, Muharrem, into the same parentheses and questions if Takva is possible in the ‘modern’ world. Thus, although its approach to religion has more commonly been discussed, a man’s fear of god equally addresses the problems of capitalism. While asking to what degree one can have ‘morality’ in the capitalist world, it also inquires about the compatibility of the requirements of the Islamic way of life and the capitalist system. What does it mean to be a good person? How can one become a good person? What does it mean to have Takva? Is it possible to separate the spiritual and material world? Is it possible to have Takva while dealing with daily tasks? The reason for the different interpretations of the movie and the praise it received from different segments of the society may be its reluctance to provide clear and definite answers to these questions. A man’s fear of god’s purpose seems to be to ask these questions, point out the conflicts and emphasize the importance of questioning.
(Gözde Onaran, “A man’s fear of god: everything or nothing,” Altyazı, 57, 90-91, December 2006).

Festivals And Awards