Conquest 1453
Мой отзыв на турецкий фильм "Conquest 1453"
Написал на английском, чтобы опубликовать на IMDB. Критика английского заранее принимается.
Religious fanaticism and nationalism propaganda.
Here a few "facts" that can be derived from the movie:
- The Fall of Constantinople was predicted and even ordered by the prophet Mohamed himself some 1000 years before it happened!
- After desperate failures to conquer the city, it's the dream of some holy man that triggered the last successful battle.
- The first suicide bombing with "Allah Akbar" shouting happened there, and all the heroes were amazing athletes.
- The Mehmed II himself, and his army are all glorious heroes while the defenders are ugly cowards.
- The words "Allah Akbar" can inspire anyone, anywhere, and for doing anything.
As an atheist, all these details make me think that the history is simply a joke. It made by charlatans and some stupid people that believed them.
The only good think in this movie is that it let me learn a little about these times and the Fall of Constantinople from different, more objective sources like wiki. And here what I've learned:
- Thousands of civilians executed or enslaved during and after this battle.
- Impalement was one of the favorite types of killing prisoners by the Ottomans.
- The army defending Constantinople was about 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreigners.
- At the onset of the siege probably 50,000 people were living within the walls.
- The Ottomans' army totalled about 100,000 men
- They built an amazing cannon called "Basilica" that weighted 32 tons, and required 700 men to operate. Although funny, this thing actually worked, and probably made this siege successful.
Actually, I don't care of the religious or nationalistic wars (and this movie insists it was such), and I don't care to whom the Constantinople belongs. What I wonder is how people in 21-st century can do such propaganda, and how others can like it.
Ah, and just for the dessert, the authors put a sentimental love story in this film. How awful! Is this what is supposed to make this film international?
Update (after watching the last 20 minutes of the movie).
The survived civilians were very happy to meet their conqueror Mehmed II in the city. They smile and admire the great Sultan. To leverage this feeling, the last minute of the film shows a beautiful little girl, playing with his fake beard in a grotesque North Korea style. This scene is supposed to make your eyes wet.
According to the film, the Sultan generously allows to bury the Byzantine Emperor according to local traditions, telling nothing about the circumstances of his death (in fact, he died fighting among the soldiers). Well, this is true ... almost. In fact, only the body was buried. The head of the Emperor was placed separately, in some public place, probably the local hippodrome. I hope, I'm not digging too deep into Ottomans mind by thinking that this decision must symbolize the religious tolerance between two nations, and, how could I forget, - the peace!