Bal (2010)

Editor's Note A child turns inward as he deals with personal and familial crises in this drama. Yusuf (Bora Altas) is a six-year-old boy who has just begun attending school in a small Turkish village. Yusuf is self-conscious around his classmates because he stutters, and some of the students make fun of him when he has trouble reading in class. Yusuf prefers to spend time with his father, Yakup (Erdal Besikçioglu), a beekeeper who sometimes brings the boy along when he tends his hives in the woods. A wave of bad luck hits the household as Yusuf is traumatized at school and Yakup's bees suddenly disappear. Yakup sets out to find his colonies, and with his father gone, Yusuf grows more withdrawn and stops speaking altogether. His mother, Zehra (Tülin Özen), must now support the family by working at a tea plantation, at the same time trying to help her son regain the desire to speak and hoping for the safe return of her husband. BAL (aka HONEY) was the third film in a trilogy by Semih Kaplanoglu about families in Northeast Turkey, preceded by YUMURTA (aka EGG, 2007) and SÜT (aka MILK, 2008).

	Tulin Ozen
	Erdal Besikcioglu
	Bora Altas
	Baris Ozbicer - Director of Photography
	Semih Kaplanoglu - Screenwriter
	Orcun Koksal - Screenwriter
	Matthias Haeb - Sound
	Aksel Kamber - Production Manager/UPM
	Semih Kaplanoglu - Director

Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] gorgeously shot, deeply interior portrait....Credit young Bora Altas and his wondrously innocent lead performance with securing our emotional investment." 03/29/2011

New York Times
"[With] spellbinding images. Like the viewer Mr. Kaplanoglu is quite happy to let nature do the talking and cast a lyrical, mysterious spell." 03/25/2011

Sight and Sound
"Starting from its extended opening shot, it is apparent that HONEY is a prime example of the contemplative mode often conveniently referred to as 'Slow Cinema'." 08/01/2011