Hilal Özdemir writes: The Ottoman Empire swaying on the belly of Naciye from Kızancık and the water of the 'Mill'

The film begins with a father asking his young daughter, 'What century are we in now?' The little girl tells her father they are in the 20th century. Then, the father and daughter look at their history book. The book introduces the period leading up to World War I, along with the kings, queens, sultans, and generals living at that time. When they turn the page, they encounter someone they do not recognize. That person is the Sarıpınar District Governor, Halil Hilmi Bey. From that point on, the camera takes us to the Ottoman Empire in 1914.

The Mill (Değirmen) is a 1986 film adapted for the screen from the novel of the same name by Reşat Nuri Güntekin, one of the most important writers in Turkish literature.

Directed by Atıf Yılmaz and written by Barış Pirhasan, the film stars Şener Şen, Serap Aksoy, and Levent Yılmaz.

The Mill takes place in 1914 in a small town of the Ottoman Empire. Halil Hilmi Bey (Şener Şen) is the district governor of Sarıpınar. The townspeople are complaining about a Bulgarian girl whose real name is Nadya, known as Naciye from Kızancık. Naciye captivates the men with her impressive dance performances at the house where the town's notables meet for drinking sessions in the evenings.

Unable to bear the complaints of the townspeople, Halil Hilmi Bey summons Naciye to his presence, wanting to solve the problem himself. However, Naciye, with all her charm, also captivates Halil Hilmi Bey.

The district governor's building is like a representation of the Ottoman Empire. Parts of its roof have collapsed, the armchairs are worn out, and the doors are damaged... But despite all this decay, the building's inhabitants have lost nothing of their entertainment.

Tevfik Fikret: Eat, gentlemen, eat, this banquet of appetite is yours

Eat until you are full, until you choke, until you burst

One day, Halil Hilmi Bey is invited to Ömer Bey's mansion. Ömer Bey is one of the powerful figures in the region. The town's notables are at the raki table he sets up in the evenings. Food is eaten, drinks are consumed, and Naciye from Kızancık takes the stage. She shows all her talents to the men there. Just as everyone has become drunk and lost themselves in the entertainment, the house they are sitting in suddenly begins to shake. Everyone runs outside, thinking it is an earthquake. During the scramble, District Governor Halil Hilmi Bey is injured.

Ahmet, a teacher in the town, rushes the news to the Istanbul newspapers:

“It is reported that a severe earthquake occurred in the Sarıpınar district center, causing significant damage and casualties. The District Governor is among the seriously wounded.”

Thus, the news of the earthquake spreads throughout the country.

After recovering a bit, Halil Hilmi Bey, who tours the surrounding villages with his aide Hurşid, talks about the damage the earthquake caused to the houses. However, Hurşid says that the reason the houses are in this state is not the earthquake, but poverty.

The earthquake is used as a metaphor in the film. Yes, an earthquake did happen. But for the people living in the villages and towns of a state on the verge of collapse, an earthquake happens every day. Dilapidated houses, people who can barely feed themselves, diseases... For the public, all of these are earthquakes.

The news of the earthquake, spreading like a game of 'telephone', reaches as far as Istanbul. Officials from the Red Crescent (Hilal-i Ahmer), the district administrator, and the governor arrive in the town one after another. They all realize that there is no destruction, but things have gotten so out of hand that it serves their interests to be part of the lie. After touring the town and the surrounding villages, the place where they all catch their breath is Ömer Bey's house. Ömer Bey, who hides the incoming aid in his own safe, gets his guests drunk with Naciye from Kızancık. Thus, he both fills his own coffers and collects enough material to maintain his presence in the town.

Unable to withstand the pressure on him, Halil Hilmi Bey resigns. However, because he was in office during the 'non-existent' earthquake, he cannot completely escape the situation. At the meeting held, they make a decision and, by working together, they save themselves by making the already dilapidated houses look as if they were damaged by the earthquake.

At the end of this incident, Halil Hilmi Bey is awarded a service medal. Everyone returns to their own duties.

While some are rewarded at the end of the event, it is the public that suffers again. Because they gain nothing.

The film creates a successful portrait of the Ottoman Empire with the metaphors it uses. Instead of telling what it wants to convey through Istanbul, the capital of the period, and the Sultan, the ruler of the country, it conveys it through a small town. If we think of Sarıpınar Town as the Ottoman Empire and the district governor's building as the palace, Halil Hilmi Bey represents the Sultan.

Halil Hilmi Bey ignores the problems in the district governor's building, even if it is dilapidated. Just as the Sultan in the Palace ignored the European states that defined the Ottoman Empire as the 'Sick Man' and were intent on tearing off a piece of land from every part of it.

He thinks he is solving the complaints he receives and the problems experienced in the region in his own way. The earthquake that occurred during the entertainment he attended allows him to see events in all their nakedness. We can consider the earthquake a warning for the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Halil Hilmi Bey, having received this warning, witnesses the lives of people he had never gone to or even been curious about before. The public has been experiencing an earthquake for a long time already. Poor people who are content with what the rich of the region give them and who work their fingers to the bone for those who rule them...

As I come to the end of the article, I want to touch upon another important point. When one thinks of Atıf Yılmaz, 'Women's Films' come to mind. Cinema is also affected by the destruction caused by the 1980 coup in our country. Directors who make films dealing with social problems begin to change the subjects they handle in their films due to the pressure of the military administration and censorship laws. Directors who previously told stories about films addressing social problems begin to make films that focus on the individual. In local cinema, women's roles also begin to change. Atıf Yılmaz is one of the leading directors who masterfully handles the transformation of women and reflects it on the silver screen.

In the film The Mill, while Yılmaz expresses his criticisms of the administration, he also critiques men's perspective on women through Naciye from Kızancık.

Naciye from Kızancık is a woman who is aware of her beauty. Her self-confident attitude captivates both men and women. Her coming to the stage and dancing at Ömer Bey's drinking parties intoxicates the men more than alcohol. Even the women next to her who prepare her for the dance talk about how charming Naciye is and how she even affects them. She is also secretly envied. Since the Ottoman period is depicted in the film, women are in the role of being veiled, a servant to their husbands, and a mother to their children. But Naciye is different from them... The complaints about her are already for this reason. The earthquake also occurs while Naciye is belly dancing. While all the men and women in the house are running outside, Naciye laughs. Even this scene succeeds in giving the viewer Naciye's strong side and her influence over men. Atıf Yılmaz also succeeds in giving the image of a strong woman through Naciye from Kızancık in the film The Mill.

The Mill is a wonderful satire with its strong acting, mastery of the plot, and the perfection of the scenes shot. The Mill, which does not stand out as much as other productions in both Atıf Yılmaz's and Şener Şen's filmography, is one of the films that should be opened and watched from time to time.

Let us end our article with the lines of Tevfik Fikret included in the film:

“ Eat, gentlemen, eat, this banquet of appetite is yours

Eat until you are full, until you choke, until you burst…”