Leaving the Small Town

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Mad Ahmet is coming.

THE SMALL TOWN:

Based on a story by

Emine Ceylan

Editing

Ayhan Ergrsel

Producer

Sadik Incesu

Production

NBC Film

Written and directed by

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Good morning. -Thank you.

- I swear to be honest...

to protect my youngers.

To respect my elders.

To love my homeland

and nation.

My ideal is to rise,

to progress.

O Ataturk

I vow to

walk your path...

to... to...

towards the

goal you set.

I surrender my being

to that of Turkey.

Happy is he

who is a Turk.

Good day friends.

- Thank you.

- Good morning!

- Thank you! - Sit down.

Pinar? -Here.

- Elif? -Here.

Nazli. -Here.

Ismail. -Absent.

Yes Gkhan, read

today's passage aloud.

Love and Loyalty

in the family.

Families are like

small societies.

They share joy and sorrow.

Family relations are based on

love, respect and solidarity.

The family is the nucleus of

the nation and human society.

It is the source of

social peace.

Peace and order within

families radiates outwards...

to affect the entire society.

It is our duty to

uphold this structure.

Children, is there a

strange smell in the room?

Yes. There is a smell.

Everyone, take out

your lunch boxes.

Put them on the desks.

One of the meals smells.

Asiye, dear. Didn't you

notice this smell?

No, I couldn't

smell anything.

This could poison you, my girl.

Your mother should be more careful.

How could she do this?

Please go and throw it away.

I will arrange something

else for you to eat.

Tell your mother

to be more careful. Come.

Today's subject is the rules which

govern social life. Who wants to read?

The others should

listen carefuly. Well.

Doesn't anyone want to read?

Yes, Nazli.

The rules that regulate social life.

Society needs rules so that

people can live in peace

in safety together.

These rules prevent

the individual..

from acting selfishly

within the society.

In order to live together

in our society

are certain rules

and restrictions.

If we don't obey

these rules

we must suffer

the consequences.

These rules

which regulate the society

may be written or unwritten.

Unwritten rules concern

customs and morals.

They take shape

by themselves

and are passed down from

generation to generation...

and are based on

respect and..

Ismail. Take

your seat, son.

Pinar. Now you continue

reading.

Start reading where your

friend has stopped.

The rest of you...

follow from the book.

I may ask any of you.

Go on Pinar.

- The importance of

solidarity in social life.

Solidarity means loyalty to

one another regarding...

individual feelings, interests

and thoughts.

The feeling...

of belonging together...

encourages...

living together.

People can not live alone

and meet their

needs.

That's why

people always

need each another.

We should help the poor...

as best we can...

either directly or

through charities.

And help...

does not just

mean giving money.

Because... people...

also need moral support.

During hard times..

...people...

comfort each other..

Everyone is responsible...

of the sorrow of others.

to a certain extent.

They do their best...

to make each other happy.

They experience

joy together too...

and share it.

Shared joy and sorrow...

strengthens...

national unity.

The problems that arise...

Such a bond

is called national unity.

Should we eat plums

growing in the cemetery?

You are stepping

on the grave.

What does it say here?

It says what it says.

Why do you care anyway?

You can read better if you

outline it with a piece of red tile.

Won't its shell break?

- No.

- Even if a car goes

over it, it won't break.

They only die if you

leave them upside down.

They can't turn

themselves over again.

- Shall I ride on it, too?

- Allright, but be careful.

Come on, move.

Come on.

It is slippery.

It really is strong.

Won't it poke its head out?

Won't it poke its legs out?

- If it forgets about you it might.

- How can it forget about me?

You must stand still

for a long time.

A thorn pricked me.

Couldn't you find a better place

than the grave to place it on?

Stop fidgeting.

It won't come out then.

Don't move.

What was that?

- A rifle.

Father. They are coming.

Where have you been? You

have lost track of time again.

We met a hunter by the

cemetery. He knows father.

- That must be Huseyin.

He hunts blackbirds there.

What he wants with those tiny birds

I will never understarstand.

Didn't I tell you to come

up directly. It is nearly dark.

Don't trample

the corn, child.

Come round the other way. You'll

get shot one day.

But we cross the field

without trempling the maize.

Don't exaggerate.

Nothing will happen.

You never know son.

Corn fields are dangerous.

On just such an evening

as this, ismail from...

Torhasan was lying

in wait for wild boar and...

when he heard a rustling

sound he pulled to trigger.

He looked. It was

Kasirahmet's son.

He was seriously injured

and died on the way to the hospital.

You should avoid the fields.

He was the same age as Ali.

You should stick to the road.

Has the tailor finished my trousers?

- Yes. -Good.

- It's 50 lira. -What?

- He says he wants 50 lira.

-50.

Did you have the hems put up?

- Yeah.

Let him give me 50 lira,

and he can keep the trouser.

All he did was turn up the

legs and let out the waist.

Goodness gracious!

You can't get anything

altered anymore.

- Give the child 50 lira.

- Don't be ridiculous.

So will the trouser stay there?

I've got no hair left. I went to

the barber. He just cut twice.

And how much?

I won't pay him 50.

As if he is selling a field to me.

- This damned...

When I paid 20 lira

for our house...

everyone said it was expensive.

That was in nineteen...

When I was in America a dollar

was less than one lira. - Ali, come!

- What is it?

- Come here I say.

A skinny barber used to

come to village...

in summer and in Winter.

He'd cut your hair for

a couple of tomatoes.

He always thanked people.

I never heard him

complain once.

Now the guy sits in his shop...

and you have to go to him.

Two clicks and he wants 50 lira.

Who can afford it?

He just turned up hems and

took in the waist a little.

How time has flown.

I can hardly believe it.

That's life.

We were much more

energetic earlier.

I was young and

strong then.

I was only 15. But the war was on,

so who cared about age.

I, who had never been beyond the

hills around the village...

found myself in Istanbul. They put us

on a train at Sirkeci Station.

It must be Haydarpasha Station.

- It was very crowdy.

Many guys who like me never had left

their villages were there.

A Kurdish boy

kept on following me.

I made friends with him.

What was his name?

He was a bit simple

but he had a good hearth.

- May God bless him if he's alive.

- Where is Nusaybin?

- What?

- In Iraq.

What happened then?

- We set out for Mosul.

There was poverty

in those parts.

We asked for food from the villagers

but they just said "maho".

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