Polis

Musa Rami is a legendary Turkish police detective. After 17 years of hunting down a local mob boss, he captures the boss's son and is forced to shoot him in self defense. The police captain warns him that this is not going to go over well with the local mafia, but he takes the warning in stride. Rami is a larger than life figure, running his investigations his own way, coloring outside the lines of the law when he sees fit. He's not opposed to using violence to make a point or get what he wants, yet he's also charming and well-spoken.

Rami has a family he loves, and he's fallen deeply in love with a much younger woman named Funda (Özgü Namal) who's been getting his help on her thesis. His life is full, if somewhat troubled by minor issues like killing mobsters shortly before his 63rd birthday party.

And then it all starts to unravel. After intimidating a man at gunpoint so that he'll throw a chess match for Funda (without Funda's knowledge), Rami begins vomiting blood. A trip to the doctor reveals that he has a brain tumor, cancer, and that he's got two months to live. On top of that the mafia let him know of their intentions to kill off his family one by one.

Polis is a movie that confounded the expectations it created at the start of the film. Rami is built up as an over-the-top unstoppable force at the beginning, and he's larger than life for much of the film. But while Polis has action and (often black) comedy, there's a significant shift toward the bleak and tragic partway through. Don't expect a rousing guns-blazing epic.

Amongst the tragedy, look for bizarre happenings like a family picnic that turns into a family dance number to the tune of "I Will Survive".

I've never seen Haluk Bilginer before but it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Musa Rami. He's a terrific actor, capable of being fearsome, charming, and terrified of being in love and losing his loved ones. He makes the movie. The rest of the cast is good but they're just part of his show.

I absolutely loved a good portion of Polis but it comes apart a bit towards the end; in particular there was a romantic triangle that seemed unecessary. I felt it was the movie was close to being a masterpiece but fell frustratingly short. Nonetheless, it's  a fascinating piece of work. While it's obviously influenced by a handful of filmmakers, I found it to be striking and interesting on its own merits. If Turkey is putting out films of this caliber these days maybe I need to watch more Turkish films.

Recommended to fans of gritty crime dramas with some very black comedy. I suspect that this will be a movie people tend to love or hate, barring the ones who are just left feeling puzzled when it's all over.