The Market

Capitalism’s knack of rewarding the innovative while penalising the vulnerable is the central theme of this spry comedy from British director Ben Hopkins about a small-time gamble gone sour. It’s set in 1994 and takes place in a string of villages near the Turkey/Azerbaijan border. Tayanç Ayaydin plays luckless Mihram, an independent, charismatic blackmarket trader who sees potential for a payout in a request from a clinic to smuggle pharmaceuticals into Turkey, and far from being the altruistic soul his wife perceives, he plans to boost his capital by folding in other business. There are moments when Hopkins loses sight of the drama in his attempt to construct an economic case study, but the film is full of enough humour, charm and intelligence to forgive it this minor sin.