Biyografi Dünyası
Soğuktu ve Yağmur Çiseliyordu

It Was Cold and Drizzling (Soğuktu ve Yağmur Çiseliyordu) (translated)

Movie · 1990 · 3 people

Engin Ayça directed Soğuktu ve Yağmur Çiseliyordu ("It Was Cold and It Was Drizzling") as his second feature, a Turkish drama from 1990. It follows the closeness between a Turkish classical music singer and the oud player in her ensemble. Shot in colour on 35 mm, it runs about a hundred minutes and was produced by Erhan Erzurumlu for Erka Film.

Türkân Şoray plays the celebrated singer Leyla (Leyla Akın) and Ekrem Bora the oud player Cemal Bey; Gülsen Tuncer plays Cemal Bey's sister. Bülent Ufuk and Alev Koral also appear. The film opens with Cemal Bey's death and, and tells the relationship through flashbacks and Leyla's memories rather than in a straight line. Feeling an indescribable emptiness, Leyla visits Cemal Bey's home and talks with his family and friends to understand what happened.

Ayça co-wrote the screenplay with Ali Çıdamlı; Ertunç Şenkay shot it. The music is by Melih Kibar; Semra İnanç sings "Gönül Kuşum" and "Mektuplar", written for the film with lyrics by Gülsen Tuncer. At the 28th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (1991), Ekrem Bora won Best Actor and Gülsen Tuncer Best Supporting Actress, and the film won Best 3rd Film. In 1992 Semra İnanç won the top vocal prize at the 8th International Mediterranean Festival in Bastia, Corsica.

DirectorEngin Ayça
Production companyErka Film

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Cast

Türkân Şoray Türkân Şoray Actor · 81 years old Ekrem Bora Ekrem Bora Actor · died at 80 Gülşen Tuncer Film actor · 81 years old

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Through different eyes

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Watching Türkân Şoray as a singer of Turkish classical music, carried by Melih Kibar's compositions, is a gift in itself for anyone raised on the classics. The film opens with a death and builds a closeness slowly, through flashbacks and Leyla's memories; this quiet, sorrowful telling is a long way from the noise of the old melodramas. Ekrem Bora's oud player Cemal Bey is dignified and moving. And "Gönül Kuşum", in Semra İnanç's voice, stays with you long after the film ends. A work to watch with patience and an open heart.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Engin Ayça's second feature starts with a death and chooses to tell the relationship non-linearly, filtered through Leyla's memory. That choice gives the film the feel of a mourning diary: the flashbacks build a sense of absence rather than a plot. Ertunç Şenkay's cinematography and Melih Kibar's score support this inner world. The structure does not always pay off, though; the shifts between memory and present sometimes grow heavy, and the narrative can feel as if it is circling the same emotion. Still, the acting prizes Ekrem Bora and Gülsen Tuncer took at Antalya are earned on screen, and Bora's restrained performance in particular is the film's load-bearing pillar.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Let me be straight: this film doesn't move at my speed. It opens with a death and then runs almost entirely on memories and conversations, so don't expect tension or a big set piece. For a hundred minutes a heavy sadness hangs over everything. That said, Türkân Şoray and Ekrem Bora are strong, and the songs stick. Fine for a quiet evening with someone who loves drama.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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