Hamam

Plot synopsis:
Francesco (Alessandro Gassman) and Marta (Francesca d'Aloja) are an uptight Italian couple running a small design firm. Their marriage, once the most important thing to both, has lost all meaning. Francesco loses interest in Marta, prompting her to start an affair with their business partner.
Francesco's aunt Anita, the black sheep of the family, dies in Istanbul, where Francesco goes to try to sell the property he has inherited as quickly as possible.
The family who had managed the property under Anita's supervision and direction welcomes him with hospitality, but they are concerned about what the future holds for them. Their young son Mehmet (Mehmet Günsür) is particularly eager to show their handsome guest around.
When Francesco discovers the property includes a derelict hamam, a Turkish bath, he instead decides to restore the hamam and reopen it to the public. During the restoration, he starts a relationship with Mehmet.
Meanwhile, Marta arrives in Istanbul to get a speedy divorce from Francesco, but she is taken aback when she realizes how much Francesco has changed from his old self: both the hamam and Mehmet's unconditional affection were just what he needed, giving him back a purpose in life. Marta falls in love with him again, causing Rome and the divorce to lose importance for her.
Francesco's unwillingness to sell the property makes him enemies, some of whom ultimately murder him.
Marta decides to stay in Istanbul and run the hamam, the final scene suggesting she has turned into a second Anita.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
After repeat viewing you will notice the beauty of the story, characters and the city of Istanbul!
Being single, after a life of love and tragedy, she was living the last years of her life with a Turkish family in an old original part of Istanbul.
Francesco, an architect/interior designer, living in Italy, in a wealthy part of Rome with his girlfriend goes to Istanbul to take care of the estate of his aunt.
After getting to know the family, Francesco is engulfed in this new old world of Turkey and Istanbul.
Going from very wealthy in Rome to being a guest of a very poor Turkish family, Francesco's life and the Hamam become "one".
Francesco has decided to rebuild his life without his girlfriend and Rome and starts rebuilding the Haman in Istanbul to its former glory with the help of Mehmet, son of the Turkish family, who, during the course of the restauration, becomes his lover.
From then on things start to develop very quickly in a storm of old against new, east against west, money against poverty, greed against tradition, love against hate and finally gay against straight untill the very end!
Some self-reflection comes in the form of letters that his aunt wrote to his mother, with the implication that he feels the same way.Steam, or Hamam, is about suddenly finding one's "home", and being willing to accept that discovery and embrace it..
I expected to see the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque right off, but you never see them-- the film chooses to see Istanbul through the charming back alleys and everyday people.
Istanbul itself is like a character here, and its special charms are at the center of the story.
If you have visited there, you will understand why the characters become so captivated.But this film only uses Istanbul and the Hamam as a vehicle for showing its characters ways of finding happiness and tranquility in one's life.
It shares that quality with literature-- it is at once about these specific characters, and also about everyone, everywhere.Here in New York this film is called "Steam" and is being sold as a major homoerotic experience.
It's sad that they have to cheapen this wonderful movie in that way, and people going expecting to get their jollies will be woefully disappointed-- and entirely missing the point.One tends to think of Turkish/Italian cinema as not being as technically sophisticated, but this film is vary carefully and intelligently written and directed.
This really is one of those special, beautiful movies, not as flashy or intense as some, but I think I will remember this film for a long time.--- Check out website devoted to bad, cheesy and gay movies: www.cinemademerde.com.
Everything is beautiful about this movie, the people, the love between the two men and the between the family and Francesco.
Beautiful scenes of Istanbul, which I am sure is not seen by the usual tourist.I loved this movie and highly recommend it..
But when Francesco inherits a Turkish bath from an aunt he barely knew, he heads to Instanbul to sell it.
Francesco finds his bitterness salved by the love of the family who manages the hamam, his heart stolen by the family's hunky son Mehmet, and his too-fast life slowed by the need to rebuild and maintain the hamam.
Here we find yet another of the main characters we have started to know throughout the story, being sucked into the gentle, demanding, chaotic, smoky, colourful and slow whirlpool that is this movie's Istanbul.
The vagueness and the fact that so much of the story is told through glances, gazes, and shimmering vistas of Old Istanbul means that everyone can bring their own story along with them to illuminate the hints and nuances of this remarkable film.The ensemble performances were very powerful, and I honestly couldn't find any false notes here, though the atmosphere of Mediterranean melodrama at the film's sudden and somewhat awkwardly contrived conclusion seemed a little heavy and perhaps unnecessary as an ending to the serenity of the film as a whole.I quite liked the music, and I enjoyed the director's eye for everyday details in a landscape that is very exotic to a North American filmgoer--reminiscent of The Scent of Green Papaya, or Raise the Red Lantern..
First off the bat, the homosexual suggestive advertising of this film is misleading: it was not the central theme nor occupy any more than a second's brief moment.This film actually has a very poignant way of telling a story, which is set in Istanbul (this was what drew me to see this film as I remembered my visit to Turkey and fascinated by the city of Istanbul), and Istanbul is really the central backbone of this movie.
Story unfolds in a very ordinary everyday way, and through out the film, yes, things just unfold and nothing is presented elaborately  no fuss no emphasis  they all come across in subtle nuances.
Meanwhile layers of emotions subtly unraveling and the central characters: Francesco and his wife, Marta, each of their own feelings go through stages of changethrough each of their experiences of Istanbul and Francesco's aunt Anita's words It all come togetherand you will enjoy this film.
But this movie wasn't even close to being that shallow.The story is very bittersweet, about two people finally finding themselves only to lose it in the end.
Francesco dies later and Marta understands her aunt's letters: as a free woman in Turkey she needs no men to be paired with.
I have seen this film twice now, and both times felt enchanted at the end.
I was able to put myself in the main character's shoes in not understanding everything being said (well, I could read, but still...)  The use of what I perceived to be 'broken Italian' also added to the mood.The letters being read has been done before and I expected it to be a foreshadowing of things to come but I didn't expect the way it was carried out.As for the sexuality mentioned in other reviews, I think I would call it sensuality, and it didn't always involve naked bodies.All in all, this was a great movie.
Hamam, not only tells us what traditions originally are (not restricting rules, but guidelines to keep senses, the family and the body together), but also reminds us the mystique remains of a city, where nothing is considered wrong, where life just floats along the steam of the Hamam.Beautiful and sensual, Hamam is a soft and relaxing movie, like its title suggests..
We have many films on the theme of how repressed English visit sunny Italy or Greece to discover new depths to their souls, from "Zorba the Greek" through "Room with a View," "Enchanted April," and "Shirley Valentine." "Steam," or "Hamam: Il Bagno Turco," breaks new ground.To begin to understand the enormity of the life-transforming intensity of feeling the "cold" foreigners experience in Istanbul, the "cold" foreigners are ITALIANS, the very people whom film makers love to contrast with the supposedly cold Brits."Il Bagno Turco" made me and two friends -- one of whom had never been there, another who'd lived there four months -- want to hop the next plane for Istanbul, and perhaps never leave.The film reminded me of how surprised I was to experience the warm hospitality of the Turkish people.It also reminded me and my friends, once again, of how profoundly civilized the Italian people are.The cinematography and direction is nothing short of amazing.
In one scene, toward the end, the frenzied rush of one of the main characters through the streets of his Istanbul neighborhood to seek help is carried off with balletic precision, while the unseen camera photographs him from a variety of swiftly turning angles, with no camera in sight..
A married couple works out their banal existence; evolves.The magic of Turkey and the showering of loving hospitality is reflective of the people from that part of the world.
The feeling is that something significant is going to happen at any moment; it doesn't really until close to the film's end.
Then came most unexpected changes: Going to a most fascinating city (Istanbul) located in a drastically different country (Turkey) to finish some family business; meeting a loving, close-knit family; making personal connections with the members of the family and other local persons; discovering an architectural peculiarity --Turkish Steam Bath-- not well-known and appreciated even in that city; exploring, enjoying, and getting to know all the unique specialties of this type of "Bath"; and, above all, going through a major personal evolution and discovery.
This film will make you want to visit Istanbul.
The atmospheric music and excerpts from "Madame's Letters" help to give the film an exotic Turkish feel (well to me anyway).Knowing the basic plot, I was expecting the outcome of the Francesco / Marta / Mehmet encounter, but it was still quite well handled.The ending was a bit of a wrench, and I wasn't quite expecting it to come out that way, so full marks in that respect.Worth looking out for..
Being born in Istanbul and having lived most of my life there, I was very much carried away with the subtle Istanbul spirit of the movie.
Despite the direction of this film's marketing, reviews and various plot summaries, "Hamam" is ultimately the tale of the spiritual connection and liberation of two Italian women as they encounter life-altering experiences in exotic Istanbul.
An Italian man named Francesco inherits am old Turkish bath from his aunt and travels to Turkey to sell it.
The ensuing story deals with his involvement with the bath, with the community of people in its milieu, and especially an attractive young cousin Mehmet who stirs his sexual ambivalence in the men's world of the "hamam" (the bath), and the triangle completed by his wife Marta who has her own issues.I found the earlier parts of the movie to be slow developing, picking up "steam" as the main character begins to discover himself in the culture of the hamam.
The film seems true to Turkish city culture from my limited observations after two trips there.
The English subtitles show generally good, clear form (not knowing the original languages I can't vouch for their accuracy), although there is a mixture of Italian and Turkish spoken, with some of the characters speaking only one or the other and not understanding each other: all that isn't clear to us, because we just have the English translation in the same typeset.This film will be mildly interesting if you like the subject matter, and a number of reviewers have appreciated its subtlety and treatment of a changing culture.
A special film For the side of Istanbul, for delicat portrait of love, for inspired performances, for flavors and words and tension and the meet with a form of happiness out of any definition.
Ferzan Ozpetek, a Turkish film director who has the ability to gather very different point of views at a time.
Also in this movie, showing how beautiful and bad life can be, and how we lose the "whole" among the details.
A confusing adventure for the young italian man who discovers love for the second time and the Turkish bath "Hamam" at the suburbs of Istanbul..
A well-organized film that tells Turkish culture from a different perspective.
That is, the movie is not "usual" or "boring" for an ordinary Turkish."Things flow more softly there" for Istanbul...
It was a good point.The story of Francesco at the Turkish bath is demonstrating parallel to his aunt's story.
Reminds me a little of the Italian film 'I Am Love', which also takes a dramatic turn near the end.
Anyway, the film is remarkable for portraying a quietly ambivalent acceptance of homosexuality in a culture that is non-western and cosmopolitan: Istanbul.
Leaving wife and drab existence in Rome for what he believes is a short trip to Turkey to oversee the selling of the house, he unexpectedly falls in love with the culture and the people.
This film won accolades at 1999's Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Film Festival where its message - that to find happiness and self fulfillment and that to stand up for what one wants and believes in, results in exultation in life, but comes at the cost of danger and (potentially) disaster - had a special meaning for the audience.
Towards the end of the movie we learn that someone wanted to name their baby after Francesco and I asked myself why.
He does nothing in the movie except brood and read his aunt's letters and for some reason everyone who meets him in Turkey seems to think he's Mr Charisma.
I've dealt with clients that are Turkish, and though I have little knowledge on their way of life, it was interesting to see them portrayed: their kindness, generosity and hospitality.
We get confusing opening where you have to put pieces to get who's who/where/what they do, but after awhile it slows down to a married Italian man who travels to Turkey following his Aunt's death and his strange desire to continue her hamam or bathhouse which was already going out of style before her death.
When I rented the tape Hamam, the Turkish Bath' at my local video store, I had wrong expectations of what the movie would be about.
But let me add just one thing: If you're out to see a romantic GAY movie with an ending that encourages you to live your gay life instead of getting married, you better see MAURICE.
The Hamam becomes a pleasure for Francesco, but also a measure for his life and, in the least, his very existence.
The main character's partner can also be another female.It is really a nice movie about a person's simple life pursuing happiness.
It really does not matter how much one can make, this film showed that happiness is when you found something that you like to do.A good movie..
Hamam: The Turkish Bath is a beautifully acted film, and a film the the director should be proud of for a first time film.
This is the first film directed by Ozpetek, an Italian director of Turkish origin, and it contains all the recurrent issues of his later work.
The movie focuses on Francesco, a young architect, on how his life changes for the better, when he is forced to leave Rome to go to Istanbul.
There he finds a completely different way to relate to work and other people, he discovers the importance of value such as solidarity, understanding and family.
In the latest part the film have a twist, as long as Francesco's wife Marta comes to Istanbul to make him sign the divorce papers.
The finale comes unexpected, Francesco is killed (we don't know why, probably 'cos he refuses to sell the hamam) and Marta, instead of leaving, takes over the hamam.This film is about happiness and the comparison of two ways of life.
In Istanbul Francesco becomes lover of the son of the Hamam caretaker.
He found a family in Turkey living with the Hamam caretaker's family, but he hasn't any in Italy (although being married); 3- food as a metaphor of the joy of staying together, as a tool to welcome other people and strengthen relationships with them (hospitality is an important concept in southern cultures).
Even if immature, I love this film and here you are 3 reasons why it's worth seeing: 1- the topic is interesting and well developed 2- Istanbul is well portrayed in a very non-touristic way3-(for girls) Alessandro Gasman is so handsome in this film.
Believing it's a house he sets forth to sell it only to find it is a hamam(Turkish bath).
As a guest at the house where his aunt once boarded he becomes aware of the differences in the Italian and Turkish cultures..
The Turkish people are noted for their hospitality and this is clearly portrayed through the various characters in the film.
The story begins with a death and ends with a death suggesting that in some way the hamam is cursed.
But the daily life of the Turkish family and the progress of the refurbishment of the hamam is so convincing that we feel in the end that should we go to Istambul we would most likely recognize the hamam and the people who live there.
The first 90% of this movie is an interesting and even thoughtful examination of an Italian yuppie who finds himself in a typical neighbourhood in Istanbul, and has to re-examine his life and the choices he's made.Unfortunately, this movie is the most egregious example of the now-trite 'surprise tragic ending' that some straight filmmakers seem to feel obliged to do whenever they have a gay character.
Hamam is an Orientalist movie, reflecting the perspective of Western fantasies about the East, in this case Istanbul.
Its director is actually Turkish but he filmed Hamam probably for a European audience, putting very delicate pieces of Turkish culture here and there throughout the movie.
As its title goes, the movie's most sound object is the Turkish bath, which has long been associated with sexuality, nakedness etc.
More than Mehmet's personal effect on that, apparently the general atmosphere of the city together with its people and culture, culminating in this historical and exotic space of hamam was the primary factor for Francesco's expansion into new sexual horizons.
Apart from such extravagant Orientalism, the movie also had more sincere moments of Turkish way of life to offer.
The tragic murder of Francesco was a warning to the European intruder of the potential dangers of the Orient which accompany its pleasures; but Marta's insistence on continuing Madam's enterprise with her aspiration in fact to turn into a Madam nevertheless ended the movie in the hope for the Western audience to realize its fantasies and ideals through an Oriental way of life..