THE REVENGE OF THE SNAKES (YILANLARIN ÖCÜ), 1962

Türkiye | DCP, Black & White, 102’ | Turkish
Director: Metin Erksan
Cast: Fikret Hakan, Nurhan Nur, Aliye Rona

Adapted from Fakir Baykurt’s novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Erksan, the film focuses on property, poverty, and power dynamics in village life.

Kara Bayram makes a modest living farming his small plot of land with his elderly mother Irazca, his wife, and three children. His peace is shattered when the village headman sells a parcel of communal land to Deli Haceli. Without exaggerating poverty or resorting to stock characters, Erksan creates real, resilient figures in a “social realist village film.” The production, which also resonated on the political scene of its era, led to the director’s third and fiercest clash with censorship. It won first prize at the Carthage Film Festival in 1966.

The Revenge of the Snakes was restored by the Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation (İKSV) with the support of Groupama.