Boston Turkish Film Festival Review: Anatolian Leopard

With a premise that promises sadness, Anatolian Leopard delivers. A zoo in Ankara, Turkey on the verge of being privatized and transformed into an amusement park named “Aladdin’s Magic Lamp” by Saudi Arabian business magnates loses its endangered Anatolian leopard to a mundane illness. Aging zoo director Fikret (Uğur Polat) shares no interest in the privatization process and, recognizing that the leopard’s endangered status is the only thing preventing the Saudis from buying the zoo, he conspires to hide the animal’s death.

Polat’s dangerously subtle performance calls for few words and fewer facial expressions. He might say a total of 20 lines in the 100 minutes of runtime. And any more would be too many. He seems familiar with the feelings of late-career reflection and evaluation that Fikret bears torment from. Polat’s performance alone is worth the price of admission.

Continue reading at the Boston Hassle.