Friday, December 10, 2021

Sen Kiminle Dans Ediyorsun (2017)


Aysel is a fragile young woman. Listless after the death of her parents, and unsure what to do with her life, she's made several unsuccessful attempts on her life. In an effort to break Aysel out of her funk, doctor-in-training Selim encourages her to pursue a childhood hobby. This leads the girl to join a fledgeling dance academy, run by the dotty Şengül. Soon the troupe gains more members, and they realise they can make an effort at winning a big national competition...


Sen Kiminle Dans Ediyorsun (Turkish Dance School) is a movie that gets off to a weird start! It begins with the heroine attempting suicide when a postman rings. He's shocked at a lady with a gun to her head answering the door, so he tries appealing to her neighbours. They agree-Why a gun? It'll make such a mess, and they just cleaned the stairs! And don't think about jumping off the roof either, it'll give the building a bad name! This casual dark humour opens the film in a surprising way, and makes you wonder what kind of a movie we're in for!


There are a few comically black moments as the film progresses, but for the most part it lightens up into the Turkish comedy you could typically expect. Sen Kiminle Dans Ediyorsun does a great job at setting up the characters and story, and why we should care. There aren't any surprises as far as the general story goes, but that's ok. It's all in the way you tell a story. That can make even the most predictable story a treat, because you enjoy the journey.

Some might be put off by the mischievous tone, but the film never goes too far, nor tries too hard to shock us. There's a good balance, and I think it really works in meshing the seriousness of Aysel's situation with the otherwise goofy and lighthearted setting. A plot point like attempted suicide could feel out-f-place with goofy shenanigans, but when used right, humour can complement drama really well, and make heartfelt moments work that much more.


The characters are another thing that make the movie stand out. Aysel is a nice lead, with a sympathetic backstory and demeanour. It's nice seeing her come out of her shell, and how an old and forgotten hobby can really give someone purpose again. Selim is a good dude, and while his motives may be a little selfish at first (in an honest way), he soon begins to see things differently.

Şengül, head of the dance school, starts out as a total bitch! She's so driven to get her business off the ground she's sacrificed much, and it makes her a bit unlikeable (she insisted her husband divorce her so she could get more money on a loan, and she's shocked he doesn't want to get back together), especially considering she's a pretty in-your-face and obnoxious sort. But as the movie goes on she does improve, and even has her softer moments, adorable ones, as well as a great dance-off. She's amusingly foulmouthed too, stringing together some fun combinations of obscenities.

The handsome and talented Anıl seems like a good guy at first (though an instantly jealous Selim never trusts him), but his true motives soon come to light, and he even frames Selim to get him kicked off the team. It really doesn't speak well of everyone else that they immediately buy it! He's an effective villain, though never gets any punishment at the end. He just disappears after defecting. I was hoping for something like an embarrassing failure on stage


The antagonists for much of the film are a rival dance group, who are 'bad boys' a couple decades out of date (always a plus for me!), and highly enthused with Michael Jackson. They're a hoot, trying way too hard to be cool and ending up endearingly dorky. Because of this, and the events in the story, it feels earned when they eventually join the dancing troupe, whereas Anıl is a more nasty piece of work, genuinely malicious and therefore isn't here to stay.

The rest of the dance troupe are fun. They're less explored, and often just for window dressing, but that's ok. That's what they're for, and they get enough to not feel like dead weight.

The climax is entertaining, with everything coming together well, from the hostage situation, to an expected mad dash to get back to the show in time, etc. It is a bit silly how much time passes before the host finally announces their group on next, but it wouldn't be untruthful to say that didn't happen all the time in real life. We all know what shows are like.


The verdict is a bit of a mix. I understand why they don't actually win, because that would probably stretch credulity, plus it'd be healthier for Aysel to face failure head on and know that it changes nothing, and she's still having fun...BUT, did it have to be the absolute worst act that beat them? Those 'Dances with Walls' guys were a bunch of techno posers!

Sen Kinimle Dans Ediyorsun is a stylish movie, with neat little time fades (with little dancing couples over the screen), and some hilarious transitions that play with the medium.

The cast do a great job, with comedic and serious moments. Demet Özdemir and Uraz Kaygılaroğlu are sweet and funny leads, while Binnur Kaya could be annoying to some (and was to me at first), but I quickly grew to enjoy her presence. Berat Yenilmez does a fun job as well, as does Kıvanç Baran Arslan as the eager pilaf merchant. The rest of the cast are all fun, and consistently entertain.

A film about dancing naturally hinges on good performances. Or at least, ones that look good to a layman. Really, experts can go on all they like about what dancing must or must not be, but to me it's all just flailing around, and if I happen to like how they flail around, it's good dancing to me. As such, I enjoyed all the moves here! The only ones that I wasn't keen on just weren't my my tastes.

And lastly, the soundtrack here is very nice, with lots of varied and sunny tracks. There's some decent licensed music here too, used well during the dance performances.


Sen Kiminle Dans Ediyorsun has a lot of laughs, and plenty of heart. If you like dancing, Turkey, and cheesiness, you're sure to enjoy...

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