Load of rubbish!!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Bal is the Turkish word for honey, and that is part of the storyline. Yusuf, a six year old boy, wanders about, searching for both his father and the meaning of life, in no particular order. His father suffers the trials of Job, his bees have vanished for no apparent reason and he has a family to feed. An accident leads to dads early demise, so most of the film is told from the perspective of Yusuf, who as played by Bora Atlas, is an absolute casting miracle. The kid is tremendous; he owns the screen. There is very little dialogue, so the actors must use their faces to portray real human emotions. The scenery is beautiful and the sounds of nature fill the air. In the mood for a quiet, thoughtful movie with actual heart and soul, then Bal should be just right.

First of all i am a Turk, what's more, i like honey and milk very much !!! so this reality will affect my comment of course, i am not sure what would i say if the film was for example from India or Pakistan or Malaysia etc. Probably i would give 3/10, sorry but that's it. The film attracts my attention because it is simply real life, and all you see might be happening at the same time somewhere in north of Turkey. i am glad to see that, this kind of films are still being made, i wouldn't like that all directors go for Avatar,2012,inception or such films which have %80 computer technology. This film is a real escape for everyone who is bored of watching what is more popular nowadays in cinema. The film is very slow, like the nature itself in the film, for me, there is no point in settling down the cameras and microphones in the middle of nature and record it, for documentary of course the remote controller is set to national geographic, but not for a film. but this film is made of %80 nature and its quite awaiting for the eternity. some of you even could easily fall asleep when watching, which is -i think- not the aim of the director Kaplanoğlu. There are no any hit quotes in mutual dialogs, very simple and -unfortunately- without the accent of this region, it may seem nothing for a foreign watcher, but its very bad for a Turkish one. Also personally the festival in a large valley -towards the end of the film- destroys the quiet and dreamy atmosphere of the film. There are some symbols in honey, dead bees etc, but these are a little bit meaningless without some very powerful quotes. The father (erdal Beşikçioğlu) is a right choice but i cant say the same thing for the mother. The acting of Yusuf (the boy) worths watching. And there are very nice scenes showing Yusuf is waiting for his father. But please let's be realistic, anyone who goes to the same district with a hand-camera could have some nice shots whether or not he is professional. For me the main actor in this film is Nature.But i would like to thank to Kaplanoğlu who give it a chance. Watch it, but never watch it because it won the Golden Bear.

It is noble of the director filming his story and finding peace within himself by telling his story. Unfortunately I can't say the same about my viewing experience. I know the movie has made many fans (it even won a Golden Bear in Berlin in 2010), but even when I got on with the repetitiveness of some of the themes, I couldn't really take it as seriously as it was meant.It never felt lyrical either (it's shot too down to earth for that), it never really gets fantastical either. It tells its story as cold as winter time can be. Which is strange considering there is a boy in the main role and you should feel for him. The fact, the boy does not really act did not help either.But than again that's me talking. Read another review and you will read the complete opposite. I like slow moving movies too, but they should at least have some substance to them. Loss of innocence in your youth has been filmed in way better style, so that is almost feels like loss of my time ...

As an occasional movie watcher, I decided to see this film after it received the Golden Bear. As a Turkish watcher, I realized many defects about the film. First of all, the father, and especially, the mother of Yusuf does not look and speak like natives of Black Sea region where the film was taken. They speak Turkish without any accent which came to me very unpleasing from the beginning. We realize the difference very clearly when the mother takes Yusuf to an older neighbor to take care of him before she goes to search his husband. The neighbor is a native of Black Sea region and speaks Turkish with a flawless Black Sea accent. Another problem in the film was that Yusuf can sometimes read and sometimes not. He can sometimes speak and sometimes not. I have not heard any illness as 'sometimes speaking and sometimes not'. What is the point in it? It was very annoying to me and the whole plot was about that. There was no particular subject. The scenes are very long and dark as if it were an horror movie but it was not. Maybe they tried to create another Haley Joel Osment but without any acting and concrete plot you can not do that. In my opinion, it is a very boring film. I really wonder how it received the Golden Bear.