The Magician (2006 film)


The Magician is a 2006 Turkish comedy-drama film, directed by Cem Yılmaz and Ali Taner Baltacı, about a magician who tours around Turkey with his father and best friend so that he can make enough money for laser eye surgery. The film, which was released on, was short-listed for Turkey's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards but lost out to Takva.

Production

The film was shot on location in Istanbul, Gallipoli and Eceabat, Turkey.

Plot

Iskender is a juggler, but to everyone besides himself and his childhood friend, Maradona, he is actually a magician. The two friends undertake a great deal of risk by including Sait in their tour program while being forced to escape Istanbul. Moreover, Father Sait had stopped appreciating Iskender years ago. While the tour brings them much closer, it also results in a magnificent falling-out. Iskender, Maradona, and Sait keep coming back together and falling out with their fellow traveler, Fatma.

Cast

The film opened in 378 screens across Turkey on at number one in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $1,462,608 and was later released across a number of European territories.
DateTerritoryScreensRankGross
Turkey3781$1,462,608
Belgium619$38,916
Germany5212$198,149
Austria413$41,780
Netherlands1714$53,749
United Kingdom424$34,704

Reception

Box Office

The film was number one at the Turkish box office for two weeks running and has made a total worldwide gross of $9,146,764.

Reviews

Todd Brown, writing for Twitch Film, notes that this film, looks to be a beautifully shot piece of work, and that, while it was impossible not to see an awful lot of Mel Brooks influence on G.O.R.A. this one sees Yilmaz in a much more restrained mode that I think plays a fair bit better.

Awards