Cabbar, an illiterate Kurdish horse cab driver, struggles to support his elderly mother, wife and five children. When one of his horses is struck by a car, destitute Cabbar moves heaven and earth to buy a replacement, while creditors swoop in and sell his carriage. All hope seems lost, yet Cabbar’s naïve optimism is unshaken. Under the advice of a holy man, he ventures into the desert in quest of a mythical lost treasure.
Palme d’Or winning filmmaker Yilmaz Guney directed and starred in this faithful depiction of 1970s Turkey. Considered Guney’s first masterpiece, Hope was initially banned in Turkey and subsequently smuggled abroad and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. This digitally restored version premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
