Another Istanbul

Rating: 3/10 (29 October 2012)

As a Turkish citizen i'm tired of seeing Istanbul as an ancient ruined Muslim city in the movies of western directors. While Istanbul is larger than most of many countries and has a population of 15 million, still we're exposed to scenes covering only a few kilometer squares of the city, namely the historical peninsula. It is also the case in Taken 2 as well.
It's still interesting to see how inaccurate people can be even though they're supposed to be professionals and they're shooting the movie in a very small zone. While watching the police cars from 70's i wonder whether the crew did not see any police cars while they're spending many days in Istanbul. More importantly, Istanbul is not the capital so there is no US Embassy in the town but US Consulate instead, which is located far away from the movie set. It's not surprising to see women in black scarf in the Historical Peninsula, however one might see lots of women with mini skirts as well. It's more than surprising and not factual though to see some women wearing scarfs who are staring at a woman driver with criticizing eyes. Mosques and everlasting prayers are exhibited as the main characteristics of the city. While the beauty and geographic importance of Bosphorus is emphasized in the film, still the background seems to be deliberately composed of people and streets of an undeveloped Islamic city. I expect to see the same image when i see the latest Bond movie. I hope European or American movie makers manage to walk a few kilometers away from the Grand Bazaar or Blue Mosque to see the undiscovered % 99 percent of Istanbul one day.