Set in the Black Sea area of Turkey, BAL is a vivid depiction of village life under threat. Yakup (Erdal Besikcioglu) tries to make a living collecting honey, but finds that there is no money in it. He travels to another part of the region in search of better prospects, but meets a sticky end. His fellow-villagers eke out an existence through traditional pursuits such as rope-making, but they cannot really survive. The main focus of the action is on Yusuf (Bora Altas) a young boy who feels unable to communicate with the outside world; possessed of a stammer, he is frequently laughed at by his classmates. The only was he can survive is through dreams of a better life - whether it be in the Black Sea region, or as symbolized by the elements (such as the moon). The cinematic style is slow, with plenty of long shots allowing viewers to contemplate the characters' reactions within the frame. However director Semih Kaplanoglu uses this style to make an acute commentary on a declining way of life, as well as showing the ways in which children are often forced to do things they don't want to, both at home and at school. A complex film that befits repeated viewings.

beauty is the basic virtue of film. the beauty of images, the crumbs of mystery, Bora Altas are parts of this delicate, light-dark movie.a slice of pure life. that is all. and the delicate art of director to create the thirt part of a trilogy. seductive Turkish film, it is mixture of different lines of common life, religion and forms of poetry, small gestures and childhood perceptions. embroidery of signs and looks,it can have a lot of keys. but fundamental thing, the secret of this fragile construction, reflection about essential ingredients of life remains this special beauty. but it is not the unique source of fascination. because it is a correct story and each viewer has chance to discover his well known part. the school, the relation with the father, the image of mother, the wood, the different feelings, the search, the sleep and the shadows from little Heaven are drops who can make Honey a real good movie.

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.

Bal (Honey) is the last film of Semih Kaplanoglu's Yusuf Trilogy. When I first read the script I was convinced that this one shall be the most powerful of the trilogy, and the result seems to confirm me. It is an exquisite film in all senses: the story, acting, visuals, and sound. The kid is superb. Well, it deserves a Golden Bear in Berlinale. I organized a special screening of the film for some European film professionals in Istanbul. Everybody was quite impressed by the masterful naivite and simplicity. The film skilfully manages to portray the kid's world and perspective. There are strong symbolic references waiting the viewers to decipher. The best thing to do is to watch the film. I'm sure you'll not regret it. Just some questions: lets all of us just think why the bees are dying. What kind of a relation do we have with the nature that we cause the bees to die? What is missing? Honey: a sweet thing which is a natural product of the bees. If the bees all die, where shall we find the honey? BAL poses a calm question to our modern civilization, to our modern selves.