Because of a local blood feud, a peasant family decides to sell its sheep - a most precious commodity - in far away Ankara. During their long train ride, bribes must be paid to petty officials, sheep are stolen or die in the packed, airless wagons, and the sick wife of one of the family's sons becomes deathly ill.
Direction
Ökten's claustrophobic train sequences are masterclasses in suffocation.
Acting
Tarık Akan's simmering helplessness anchors every frame.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Turkey's 'social realist' cinema wave, banned domestically for its unflinching portrayal of state corruption and rural poverty under military rule.
The train scenes were shot on actual working livestock cars with non-professional extras; several crew members developed respiratory infections from the ammonia fumes.
TR
