The Ringing Ball
Encyclopedia
The Ringing Ball is a 2009 Turkish comedy film
, written and directed by Mahir Egemen Ertürk, about a team of blind football players who want to attend the 2004 Summer Paralympics
in Athens
. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , has been screened at film festivals in Ankara and Salonika.
, describes the film as, a borderline emotion exploiter that performs quite pleasantly despite some of its excesses until that point at the very end in which the filmmakers transform their cute story into a slice of unnecessary arabesque. The film, he continues, has a lot of funny and sweet moments thanks to the enthusiasm of the actors who are playing the blind team members, and director Ertürk should be congratulated for portraying them with respect instead of pity, and, I was smiling with amusement as I was watching this quasi-sports comedy until I was subjected to the bombardment of sentiment in the movie's final 10 minutes, thus I regret to say that I couldn't help ending up cowered with a sour expression on my face. They had taken away my feel-good moment, and I don't even know for what purpose. He concludes that the film, has the potential to reach the hearts of enough audience members; it tries to illustrate a positive message - anyone can do anything. It's just that no one wants to watch an alcoholic overcome with self-pity if they're in the mood for regaining hope.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, written and directed by Mahir Egemen Ertürk, about a team of blind football players who want to attend the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , has been screened at film festivals in Ankara and Salonika.
Synopsis
The film follows a handful of blind people, including a fisherman, a call-center agent and a man who sells lottery tickets on the street, from the Bosporus Society for the Blind, training to compete in the soccer category at the Paralympics. Kerem (Burak Önal), a former soccer star who has become an alcoholic coaches the team and falls in love with the beautiful Semra (İpek Özkök), a young woman works for the society. Unfortunately, Kerem has some thugs on his tail due to his past debts and his weakness for wine puts his coaching activities in danger.General release
The film opened in 45 screens across Turkey on at number sixteen in the Turkish box office chart with an opening weekend gross of $12,819.Festival screenings
- 21st Ankara International Film Festival21st Ankara International Film FestivalThe 21st Ankara International Film Festival is a film festival held in Ankara, Turkey that ran from March 11 to 21, 2010.This edition of the Ankara International Film Festival, organized by The World Mass Media Research Foundation and accredited by FIPRESCI, opened with a gala on the evening of...
- 50th Selanik International Film Festival
Reviews
Emine Yıldrım, writing in Today's ZamanToday's Zaman
Today's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....
, describes the film as, a borderline emotion exploiter that performs quite pleasantly despite some of its excesses until that point at the very end in which the filmmakers transform their cute story into a slice of unnecessary arabesque. The film, he continues, has a lot of funny and sweet moments thanks to the enthusiasm of the actors who are playing the blind team members, and director Ertürk should be congratulated for portraying them with respect instead of pity, and, I was smiling with amusement as I was watching this quasi-sports comedy until I was subjected to the bombardment of sentiment in the movie's final 10 minutes, thus I regret to say that I couldn't help ending up cowered with a sour expression on my face. They had taken away my feel-good moment, and I don't even know for what purpose. He concludes that the film, has the potential to reach the hearts of enough audience members; it tries to illustrate a positive message - anyone can do anything. It's just that no one wants to watch an alcoholic overcome with self-pity if they're in the mood for regaining hope.