Turkish movies and dramas are so popular not only because of the beautiful people in them but because of the kind of content that the movies showcase.
The Turkish entertainment industry is 100 years old, so it proves how detailed and in-depth the movies are made now. It is considered as one of the oldest industries till now.
However, if you are new to this situation, we have compiled a list of 20 Turkish movies that you can watch as they are considered the cream of the Turkish industry.
Most of these movies are also new, so you will not feel the age of the movie. Even if period movies are made, you will feel the story, but the production is high and intense. So without further ado let’s get started.
20. I’m glad I did
- Logline: This is a documentary that showcases the happenings of Turkey from the eyes of Metin Akpinar as he jogs his memory.
- Year: 2020
- Genre: Documentary
Metin Akpinar, a famous actor, has not performed on the stage since 1992. He has been known as the most talented and skilled actor.
This documentary shows the actor’s love for acting and his own experiences when Turkey went through so much. He also gave his narrative on Turkey’s history. These are new Turkish movies.
19. Ivy
- Logline: When a cargo ship gets stuck on a board for months, the crew starts to get crazy and mad as they try to survive in that isolation.
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Thriller, fantasy, drama
This is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. What you will see are the true colours of humanity when they are brought down to their survival.
The movie tries to portray how a person would behave if they didn’t have the most basic material of the essence of life. It makes for an interesting watch and can be seen by only the adult audience.
18. My Grandfather’s people
- Logline: A grandpa, along with his family, is removed from their very own land.
- Year: 2011
- Genre: Family, comedy, drama
The movie showcases the transformation in a family and how a 10-year-old navigates through it.
This is the story of the people of the town that experience a population change. This is considered a popular Turkish movie. An emotional connection to the birthplace that grandparents want to visit before their death. Every moment you watch the 2011 Turkish movie will bring tears to your eyes.
The exchange of population between the two countries, Greece and Turkey, prompted the grandfathers to leave their birthplace and move to other areas.
17. Destiny
- Logline: Bekir, Ugur, and Zagor fall into a love triangle that gets complicated when Zagor kills somebody and Ugur is nowhere to be seen.
- Year: 2006
- Genre: Drama
Bekir falls in love with Ugur, who is in love with Zagor, who is in jail. Zagor is then killed by somebody, and Nobody can find Ugur. All the suspicions are turned towards Zagor.
The movie takes a drastic twist and makes for a very interesting watch. It will have you gripped till the end. This is counted as one of the Best Turkish Movies.
16. Blue
- Logline: It’s the story of 90s people and their love for rock and how two members form a rock band during that time.
- Year: 2017
- Genre: music, documentary
This movie showcases the story of two rock band members, Yavuz Cetin and Kerim Capli, who come down to that stage when they get older.
What follows is the story of how they go through without their cherished love of music. This movie deals with the societal struggle that various people go through just to justify their love for music.
15. Cold of Kalandar
- Logline: The story has a unique setup with a passionate story of Mehmet, who lives in a mountain village with his family, far away from modern, suburban life.
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Drama
Mehmet is a man who has been living in the Black sea’s nearby village. He breeds animals to earn a living, but his family doesn’t appreciate his ideology and looks down on him. He tries to look for a mineral reserve.
This movie talks about a very different ideology of a man who thinks modern life is something that has no value whatsoever. Cold of Calendar is a motivational movie that will twist your heart.
14. In The Family
- Logline: Fikret faces a crisis in his marriage due to differences and then meets a singer Solmaz in a weird coincidental meeting.
- Year: 2017
- Genre: Family comedy
Fikret is a guy who is stuck when his wife decides to divorce him. But he meets Solmaz, who is a singer, in a weird meeting and is forced to play a father to a daughter.
Further in the movie, comedy ensues when he tries to navigate through the whole thing. The confluence of drama and emotional connection is described in this film.
13. Vizontele
- Logline: The lives of the people of a small village change forever when a small television is brought into the village.
- Year: 2001
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
Emin is the village idiot who brought a television set to the village in 1974. The movie runs through showcasing the villages and their reactions.
Emin with Nazmi starts the broadcasting for the village people and goes through problems and issues makes for a comical experience. The film manages to entertain as well as inform. Don’t miss a single moment as drama and comedy are balanced in movies.
12. Kedi
- Logline: A documentary set on an ancient city where the people and the city are shown through the eyes of a cat.
- Year: 2016
- Genre: documentary
This film shows a section of cats as they live their individual lives in Istanbul with very distinct personalities. If you love pets, this movie is dedicated to every cat lover. The Turkish film is based on a cat and her world.
However, as the city started getting modern, the population of cats also started receding. What follows is the story of how it happened.Â
The movie follows the story of how cats were worshipped and now they are decreasing in number.
11. The Edge of Heaven
- Logline: A man hailing from turkey goes to Istanbul to look for the daughter of his father’s girlfriend.
- Year: 2007
- Genre: drama
This is a very dramatic Turkish Movie but makes for an interesting watch as it is a very interesting plot.
The film is full of characters, the author of the film has established the character’s behaviour with subjective and self-conscious concepts. At one point the film establishes a thrilling atmosphere with new suspense each time.
10. The Butterfly’s Dream
- Logline: It is the story that follows two friends who go through love, war, and the difficulties of living in society during World War II.
- Year: 2013
- Genre: drama
As a butterfly with a creative and artistic aspect of nature. The film manages to entertain as well as inform. The story goes on like this, a place where the creativity of poetry is no longer recognized in this region.
Two young guys are the best of friends who work in a coal mine in the times of World War II. Both of them are huge poet enthusiasts as well.
However, they go through a tough time as they fall in love with the same girl. This movie shows the drastic changes that take place when they fall back on their friendship and try to move through World War II.
9. The wild Pear Tree
- Logline: An unsuccessful writer comes back to his hometown, where he tries to find a sponsor and deals with his parent’s indulgence in gambling.
- Year: 2018
- Genre: Drama
Sinan is an unpublished writer who returns to his town as he graduates with the hopes that he will be able to publish at least a single book.
However, he is unable to collect sufficient money as his father’s gambling addiction leads to debts that he has to fulfil.
What ensues is an interesting story of how he struggles and perseveres.
8. Cabaret Balkan
- Logline: Citizens of Belgrade interact with each other by committing crimes full of rage and frustration as a consequence of betrayal and revenge.
- Year: 1998
- Genre: Drama, comedy
This is a very complex movie as it shows the lives of the people of Belgrade, possibly 20, who fight and take acts of revenge on each other.
This is the story of Mehmet and his family. He and his family have settled in a mountain village and are struggling daily to survive. All modern living is far from his village, but still, living and struggling continue every day.
This is a very interesting movie as it shows the lives of people and how it is connected.
7. Innocence
- Logline: Yusuf is fresh out of prison and trying to start a new life.
- Year: 1997
- Genre: Drama
This is a slow-burn Turkish movie that will have you hooked till the very end. The movie got awesome critic review and everyone appreciated the uniqueness in the story.
Yusuf was in prison for 10 years because he killed his sister’s lover. Now fresh out of prison, he has no clew what to do with his life. But as it turns out he meets new people and forms new relationship, though it doesn’t last well for long.
6. Winter Sleep
- Logline: A story of people stuck together due to uncertain situations.
- Year: 2014
- Genre: Drama
A family of a small village is behind on giving rent, and therefore the hotel becomes their shelter due to the inevitable snow falling.
What follows is that everybody is stuck in a lockdown with each other and is forced to face each other and one’s animosity with each other. It was critically acclaimed at the Cannes film Festival.
5. The Mountain II
- Logline: 7 maroon berets are on the brink of death as they are stuck between valor and disaster.
- Year: 2016
- Genre: war, action drama
The story of how an unexpected circumstance can lead to the formation of a beautiful friendship.
It is about two friends and how they have enrolled in a special and gruesome Turkish special forces training. This is a war and action-filled movie that makes for a very fiery experience.
This will also strike a love for one’s own country and the love for one’s own life and how people navigate through it when they’re in the army training fiercely.
4. Miracle in cell no. 7
- Logline: A mentally ill father’s life changes for the worst when he is wrongly accused of murdering someone who died in an accident.
- Year: 2019
- Genre: Drama, Crime
This garnered a large audience as it is the saddest flicks of all time. The causes of these emotions were only that it showed the story of a mentally challenged father with a daughter who was charged with killing somebody even though he did not.
He was charged with murdering the commander’s child. What ensues in the movie is the journey of the father and how he tries to prove his innocence to go back to his daughter.
3. Once upon a time in Anatolia
- Logline: In the steppes of Anatolia, a group of people tries to find a dead body.
- Year: 2011
- Genre: Drama, Crime
As the group of 4 men goes on a journey of looking for a dead body in Anatolia, they start to connect and blurt out their deepest and darkest secrets with each other.
The search gets tougher as the situation gets tougher. This makes for a very interesting watch as the location of the dead body is yet to be found without any leads or anything.
2. Quo Vadis, Aida?
- Logline: The story follows a translator, Aida, whose family is looking for shelter in the UN camp among all the other citizens of Srebrenica as the Serbian army has taken over the town.
- Year: 2020
- Genre: history, war, drama
As Aida is an important part of the negotiations that take place among the countries, she comes across very important information that could make or break their town.
How will she react to all this? Will she save her family? You will know all of this when you watch this movie.
This movie is a very gripping story, and it takes the shape of reality as this situation is not very different from reality. An award-winning film with a huge audience rating is worth watching. Keep such films on your watch list so you can connect with every moment.
1. G.O.R.A
- Logline: A salesman is kidnapped by a group of aliens from the planet G.O.R.A.
- Year: 2004
- Genre: Comedy, sci-fi
A Turkish salesman who is young, cunning, and smart is abducted by the extraterrestrials of the planet G.O.R.A.
He is known to showcase a great deal of humane behavior as he tries to outsmart the planet’s chief in command. This movie was a great combination of science fiction and fantasy with comical nuances.
This movie is also considered a smart and witty movie that would make for a really good movie experience. One can watch this movie with anybody.
