Review: Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm

Saz virtuoso, Ismet Topçu

Film: Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm (Love, D-Mark and Death) (2021)
Directors: Cem Kaya
Starring: N/A (Documentary, featuring various interviewees and archival footage)
Soundtrack: Various Artists
Genre: Documentary, Music

Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm/Liebe, D-Mark und Tod (Love, Deutsch Mark and Death) follows the musical story of the Turkish migrant workers in Germany. The so-called ‘Gastarbeiters’ or ‘Guest workers’ –A dehumanising term if ever there was one– first arrived at the behest of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland in the early 1960s, to help rebuild post-war Germany and its industry.

Cem Kaya’s video essay follows the musical story of the German/Turkish diaspora from the first generation of migrant workers to their children and grandchildren. It tells the tale of a culture clash, promises unfulfilled, and the confusion of a people trapped between two worlds.

The film opens with an out-of-this-world psychedelic Saz solo, from the inimitable Ismet Topçu; a man blessed with incredible talent and oodles of charisma. Explaining the inspiration for his Saz playing style, he says:

“Sometimes, I dream that NASA calls me up, and says, Topçu, we want to hear you play the Saz on the moon” ruminating “Can you imagine if I played on the moon? If I looked down at the earth while playing, and if I recorded it? What would I play at that moment? Which sounds, and which melodies, could I play there?”.

Cem Kaya delivers an inspiring social history, following the music from its early beginnings with labels like Türküola, Türkofon and Minareci, through to 80s and 90s Rap acts such as Cartel and Islamic Force, up to the more recent ‘mainstreaming’ of Turkish and Turkish/German pop music, with artists like Elif and Muhabbet. Taking care to contextualise the music with its contemporary history, the film lays out the racism and the socio-economic pressure that the Turkish diaspora in Germany has experienced over the last 60+ years.

Protest songs such as ‘Alamanya Destanı’ by Metin Türköz, “Instead of Feathers, they gave me a straw mattress, bathroom and toilet are in the factory they said” are interspersed with images of young Turkish migrants being loaded, like cattle, onto trains and shipped to Germany for work. Or stripped half naked, undergoing rudimentary medical tests, in order to gauge their ‘usefulness’ for the factory.

“Alamanya Destanı” by Metin Türköz

Far from a tale of suffering, this is a heroic story of rebellion and DIY attitude. A story of a people and a musical culture that would not be subdued, no matter how much it was sidelined. Music as a weapon, a warning and a balm to heal homesickness. There’s so much amazing music from the likes of Cem Karaca, Cavidan Ünal and Yüksel Özkasap that I can’t write about them all. One of my favourite scenes features a VHS recording of Derdiyoklar playing at a wedding. The guests stuffing wads of Deutsch marks into their outfits as they bash out Turkish folk songs in a heavy metal style.

Derdiyoklar

I recommend this film to anyone who –like me– is interested in and inspired by Turkish music. But, especially at a time when right-wing Nationalism is on the rise in Germany once again, with the anti-immigration party AFD experiencing record highs in polls, it’s an important lesson in racism in Germany.