Atatürk II 1881 – 1919 (2024)

"Ataturk II offers up a gripping insight into the life and events,surrounding the man most credited with creating the modern secular Turkish state.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was both a soldier and a politician over the course of his life. This film focuses on what is arguably the most tumultuous period of his life, including the Gallipoli campaign of world war one, that made Ataturk a household name, setting him on the path to national leadership.

What I did applaud and its to this films credit it is does not glorify war. Quite the contrary. It depicts war in all its bleak brutality. It offers insights into how the war impacted on Ataturk, with what is probably his most famous and moving speech, surprisingly not only to the memory of his fallen comrades but those they fought.

Its made clear Ataturk understands the bitter necessity for conflict but derives no pleasure from it. Ataturk is a nationalist at heart, who fights because he's protecting home and hearth.

Sets, cinematography and acting are superb. The only criticism and this may escape non English speaking audiences is the American accented Churchill and the officer who reports to him, for whom English, is clearly not, his first language.

In summary, if, like me, you enjoy historical drama's, this really is a must watch. It provides a remarkable picture of a complex man who unrelentingly fought for his homeland against insurmountable odds, paying a high price in terms of his personal life and health.