象与草

A marathon runner becomes unwittingly involved in the dirty deeds of businessmen, politicians, assassins, and underground groups when she tries to raise money for her wounded brother's operation. Bearing a striking resemblance to the true story of corruption in the 1996 Susurluk scandal, Filler ve Çimen (Elephants and Grass) is a thriller that is bold in its critique of political and social corruption in Turkey. The jury of FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Awards termed it a "courageous approach to a social and political subject presented in a tense style and with professional direction of its actors." 　　* 　　Havva, a marathon runner, tries to find sponsors for an important contest, so she can help her sick brother with the prize money. He has been wounded during his military service in South East Turkey. Havva only finds one sponsor, a five star hotel in Istanbul. In exchange for food, she will wear the hotel logo on her shirt. Quite a lot is wrong in the hotel: apart from the monthly protection money that has to be paid to a minister, a drug smuggler, mafioso Sabit, tries to take over the hotel and its casino from the owner, Mr Ali. He can't manage willingly, so Sabit tries the hard way. He hires hitmen to kill Mr Ali. What follows is a stream of violence, plots, corruption and attacks with which the marathon runner Havva becomes unwittingly involved. Zaim's socially critical thriller, his second feature after the prize winning "Somersault in a Coffin", is based on a true corruption scandal (the Susurluk scandal from 1996). Cast, script and editing are all both powerful and explosive.The elephants in the title refer to the strong people in society who can mercilessly trample on the grass (the small man).