The Ottoman RepublicMovies like The Ottoman Republic
- Key Features:
- Alternate history, Political satire, Social commentary, Cultural identity, Nationalism, Tragicomedy
- Tone:
- satirical, ironic, dramatic
- Target Audience:
- Political satire fans, Alternate history enthusiasts, Turkish cinema lovers, Thought-provoking film viewers
- Emotional Arc:
- Curiosity → Confusion → Reflection
The Ottoman Republic

The film depicts a world in which Atatürk never became leader, the War of Independence never took place, and the Ottoman Republic continues to exist in a form adapted to the present day. The continuation of the Ottoman Republic instead of the Republic of Turkey, Ankara not being the capital, signs and license plates being in both Turkish and Arabic, and the sultan wearing a suit under his caftan are some of the tragicomic situations that make up the film's story.
The Ottoman Republic
He is a civil servant in the bland state office. His whole life changes when his reports get mixed up in the hospital and he gets news that he's going to die very soon.

Late 19th century in Alexandria. Two traditionally rival Turkish families, "Seferoglu"s and "Tellioglu"s are competing for the "Green Valley". The winner will be determined by Daver Bey, who has a beautiful young daughter, Leyla. Both families try to arrange a marriage between a man from their family and Leyla, so that Daver Bey will be inclined to give the green valley to his "relatives". Tellioglus, who are behind in the race, desperately find a final solution: They will fake their idiotic butler, Saban, as the highest ranked Ottoman soldier in Egypt: Tosun Pasha.

The story of a guard who revolts because of exploiting reeve and tradespeople. People start to think he has an uncle working in the ministry of the interior.

Based on a true story set in 1948, customs officer Mehti is faced with the duty of formally setting up the border between Turkey and Syria, dividing his hometown. He is unaware of the pain that will eminently unfold, as families, languages, cultures and lovers are both ripped apart and clash head on in a village once united.

Aziz and Lemi must recover a diamond gifted by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to the U.S. President which has been stolen by bandits in the American wild west.

This is the story of the politician named Zübük. He gets expelled from the political party that he is a member of, due to corruption. The journalist Yaşar wants to make a news story about his case and investigates Zübük's doings. Yaşar gets baffled at the sly tricks Zübük played on his village people. In the end, he feels sorry about Zübük's present situation, however, as things happen he becomes aware that Zübük has been tricking him.

A robbery leaves a proprietor penniless before his wedding, but becoming a son-in-law to a second family might be the financial solution he needs.

Shakir, who lives in Kayseri, has a great legacy from his uncle who died in Istanbul. His uncle sends a telegram to Kayseri and dies before seeing Shakir, but a relative who does not want to share the legacy begins to make plans to eliminate him.

A poet, who works as a waiter to make ends meet, postures as a female singer to end a blood feud between two families.

An ingenuous countryman Ali Nazik migrates to Istanbul and meets producer Mr. Muhsin to have his first album.

In the absence of Behzat Ç., a superintendent named Himmet gets replaced as the president of the murder Bureau. When the murder of minister of Interior makes a big impact, Himmet decides to take advantage of it and he makes his team help the fight against terrorism bureau.

The neurotic Fikret and tavern singer Solmaz, whose 21 year long relationships end on the same day, meet through a funny coincidence. When Solmaz's daughter Zeynep decides to marry her lover from Adana, the ever-fearful Fikret ends up having to play the role of his life. Intended at first to be kept in the family, the wedding becomes a much bigger event upon the insistence of the groom's relatives. Can our heroes come to terms with the traditional Adana family who carry guns and own a kebab restaurant chain, and see the wedding through without mishaps?

Xate is an ordinary woman from Midyat with eight children in tow. The only thing that sets her apart is her husband's job as Mayor of Midyat. Until, that is, an extraordinary day changes her life - and the lives of everyone else in Midyat. For the illiterate, uneducated Xate becomes Mayor of Midyat! While she takes on her mayoral duties much as she does those in her house, the infantile rivalry between her children in municipal matters leads to adventures that have the Midyat folk howling with laughter.

A tragicomedy dramatizing how an innocent villager is driven into the crime world only to collect enough cash to make his biggest dream come true: Return to his village home and marry the girl next door.

Bored with her life and inspired by a friend's wedding, Esra quits her job and dumps her boyfriend, leading to a series of romantic misadventures.

Peker Mengen wins the post of mayor in a remote town with the promise of a visit by the prime minister and making the town a province. When the people do not forget his promise, Mengen ends up persuading the prime minister to visit the town with his idiosyncratic methods. After consulting with his advisors, Peker prepares a grandiose welcome ceremony, but when the ceremony gets out of his control, the town of 5000 people suddenly ends up becoming a country, one that is at war with America. As Peker Mengen, his unwillingly married wife Mualla and his advisors try to keep America at bay and struggle with the difficulties of establishing a new country, they even get the help of an alien to achieve their goals.

Everyone has different expectations of summer. And Comedy Kitchen: Holiday Recipes has a place for them all.

A poor young man chosen by a advertising company, and they made him a public hero to make him advertise poor quality products that no one buys.

A group of Serbian socialists prepares for the war in a surreal underground filled by parties, tragedies, love and hate.

Picking up from the explosive cliffhanger of the sixth episode of the miniseries, the film follows the harrowing coup attempt night of July 15th, and the Police Special Operations and Special Forces heroes who put everything on the line to prevent a cultist takeover of Turkey.

Guner Sernikli is a government official who, with his wife and their wheelchair bound daughter, has been assigned as the head librarian to this isolated province, virtually an exile since there is no library in the village. The family is warmly welcome, but these are the years of political anarchy and leftist/rightist clashes in big cities and the youth of the village inevitably follow the tides. They arrive in Vizontele, just as the situation is becoming really absurd. Guner brings wisdom; his daughter Tuba brings beauty, innocence and love. Some like the Mayor, Nazmi Dogan and crazy Emin appreciate these things but they are in the minority and confusion continues to reign. The story is based on the memories of writer-director Yılmaz Erdoğan of the last summer of his childhood in Hakkâri, Turkey in 1980.

In the years of military coup, Turkey was unable to produce its own cars. But Pasha believed that Turkish people can produce their own cars so he ordered 2 cars. Gunduz and engineers with him must produce 2 cars in only 130 days!

When a young diplomat manages to get the Austrian government to return the Plume of Moctezuma to Mexico for an exhibition, his life quickly falls apart.

Niyazi is a humble factory worker whose life is turned upside down when he wins the “altılı ganyan” (six-horse accumulator) lottery. Suddenly, everyone from neighbours to total strangers, claiming to be his long-lost relatives, crowds around him hoping for a share of his fortune. Thanks to his quick wit, Niyazi manages to outsmart these opportunists and keep his winnings.

A young man from rural Turkey arrives in Istanbul with dreams working on a ship and stays with a cousin while he searches for work. Over time, the former’s struggles to find employment and the latter’s troubles and disappointments strain their relationship and living situation.

Killing The Shadows is a bawdy comic fable set in the Ottoman Empire during the mid-14th century based on two legendary figures in Turkish folkore, the jester Hacivat (Beyazit Ozturk) and the nomad Karagoz (Haluk Bilginer), men who apparently lived and died by their sense of humour.

Entrenched in a midlife crisis, Aziz seeks solace from his mundane job, lonesome friends and rowdy family while pretending to have his act together.

Hayri and Orhan are two music producers head over heels in debt. In an attempt to find the next big thing to turn the business around, they contact Ferhat, a gastarbeiter in Germany, and desperately bring him to Istanbul to sign him. As they are struggling to find the necessary funds to promote Ferhat's debut album, a mysterious rich woman named Firuze shows up and starts supporting them. The future now seems bright, but things are not always what they seem...

A group of men lead a search for a victim of a murder to whom a suspect named Kenan and his mentally challenged brother confessed. However, the search is proving more difficult than expected as Kenan is fuzzy as to the body's location. As the group continues looking, its members can't help but chat among themselves about everyday life, as the conversations turn more and more profound and existential.

Kemal, unaware that his father is a mafia boss, sells cotton candy at train stations. After his father is killed, his inheritance is divided. Kemal begins visiting the establishments of Istanbul's most notorious thugs one by one to reclaim his father's inheritance, and gradually gains a reputation.

Şaban, who works as a clerk in a factory, is madly in love with Bahar, who works as a secretary in the same factory and attends university thanks to the financial support of the famous oil tycoon Adnan Bıçakçı. However, Bahar has her eye on the famous athlete Erkan. After Adnan Bıçakçı reveals that Bahar is his granddaughter, she is kidnapped by gangsters. However, the only person who tries to rescue her is not her boyfriend Erkan, but Orta Direk Şaban.

Convinced that his subtenant is a spy and an enemy of the state, Ilija Čvorović falls into deep paranoia which leads to an absurd and destructive chain of events.

Celal, who dreams of achieving happiness as a ladies' man and charmer, soon gets into difficulties and suffers misfortune. Back when Celal was in a relationship, he was jealous of the life of a bachelor.

Francesco and Marta run a husband-and-wife design company in Rome. When Francesco's aunt dies in Istanbul he travels there to sort out the hamam Turkish steam bath that she left him. He finds a love and warmth in his relatives' Istanbul home that is missing from his life in Italy.

Going through his daily routine in a stereotypical neighborhood, a street cleaner falls in love with a charwoman. Unfortunately for him, so does his superior officer.

A man finds the wallet of a rich man and takes a rigorous trip in an old car to return it, finding an old love and a new life of luxury awaiting.

Failed magician Iskender decides to do a tour to save his career, but has to bring his grumpy and senile father along. The tour is quite unexpectedly interrupted when a bride actually disappears from the stage.

In a small town in Anatolia, whose inhabitants possess various supernatural powers but still have to deal with ordinary problems, Cemal helps out in his father’s barbershop and, in his free time, acts as a football referee.

Seyit, a resourceful doorman of a middle class apartment in Istanbul, finds himself in a struggle for power when the new superintendent decides to crack down on his slack attitude.

Rıfkı, who lives in Germany, returns to his village, which he left years ago, to sell the properties inherited from his late father. A few coincidences that occur upon his arrival in the village lead to his name being associated with the 'Saint' title.

A love story between a poor man and a rich girl. The rich girl's father tries to prevent their marriage and he declares a war against the poor boy's family.

Apti is a simple minded village man and he believes what is happening around him by chance is actually his doing. He becomes famous by beating a feared man and everyone starts to respect him than he meets a singer and an action-love story starts.

Country bumpkin Şaban Ağa has long dreamed of winning the heart of Peri, the high-society belle he plans to marry, though she doesn’t even know he exists. Spurned when Peri agrees to wed him for his money then flees back to city life, Şaban reinvents himself as the sophisticated Dilaver Bey to exact his sweet revenge.

Commander Logar fools Arif and sends him 1.000.000 years back in the time. He must civilize people from past to reach today.

Planet Earth, 9177. The remains of humankind live in a post-apocalyptic environment divided into only two social classes: the ruling king and the oligarchs who inhabit the Representative Building and the poor of the world who hardly survive in the slums built around it.

Hüseyin is a young man who lives with his grandfather and grandmother in a village in Thracian Turkey. The two great loves of his life are his clarinet and Müjgan, a nurse. Although Hüseyin is content with his life, with his music and dreams of Mügan, due to an unexpected development he leaves his village. He ends up in Istanbul where he finds support first in his clarinet and then in the friendship of the singer Firuzan. Firuzan is a popular nightclub performer who is eagerly working on an album as she leads a colorful but complicated life. When Firuzan meets Huseyin, the course of events gives away to a hilarious adventure.

A traditional Turkish woman tries to find love and is forced by her family members to get married.

An ad executive and a fashion designer-blogger don't believe in love, so they place a bet to make the other fall head over heels - with unusual tactics.

It is 80's Turkey, local musicians of Adiyaman are hired by the military and trained to welcome one of the forceful generals of coup regime.

Man was made to be happy for simple reasons and unhappy for even simpler ones – just as he is born for simple reasons and dies for even simpler ones... Isa and Bahar are two lonely figures dragged through the ever-changing climate of their inner selves in pursuit of a happiness that no longer belongs to them.

Recep İvedik is at home watching television, when postman brings him a surprise invitation for the annual dried beans festival of Konya province. Very excited with the news, Recep convinces his best friend Nurullah to join him but due to a miscommunication with the travel agency, they get plane tickets for Kenya, Africa, instead of Konya, Turkey. After arriving at Kenya and getting on a safari tour, our hapless companions find themselves lost in endless savannah and at the middle of two rival local tribes. Many adventures await Recep in this unfamiliar and exotic land, who will try anything and everything to return home, mostly to hilarious results.

A symphony in three movements. Things such as a Mediterranean cruise, numerous conversations, in numerous languages, between the passengers, almost all of whom are on holiday... Our Europe. At night, a sister and her younger brother have summoned their parents to appear before the court of their childhood. The children demand serious explanations of the themes of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Our humanities. Visits to six sites of true or false myths: Egypt, Palestine, Odessa, Hellas, Naples and Barcelona.

During his visit of condolence to Ismet's funeral, Recep Ivedik feels sorry about Ismet's remaining family members due to his latest unfinished job contract which would cause hard financial situation for the family. Therefore, Recep decides to finish Ismet's last job by replacing himself as a bus driver and to transport group of athletes. Although Recep and his accompanying friend Nurullah were expecting this could be a short trip, they learn that it is not because they have to transport young national athletes to sports organization in a foreign country. This becomes the beginning for them to have irreversible adventure. When they are on the road, unfortunate things happen and crisis appears for the team. Recep, who believes only in victory, takes control of the situation and develops his own methods in order to make the team successful while he face with all funny events.

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

Corrupt and sleazy entrepreneur Cetto La Qualunque comes back to Italy and "jumps into politics" lest his law-abiding opponent, Giovanni De Santis, is elected as mayor.

Kahpe Bizans tells us the story of Yetis Bey (Cem Davran) and his struggle with Byzantian Emperor (Illetyus) in a humorous way.

Sinan is sent to Capadocia by his boss, Isfendiyar to write a screenplay. As he waits for inspiration, Sinan finds himself running first into Eylul, the daughter of Izzet, who owns the hotel where he's booked to stay, and then into soap opera star Faruk, his former good friend and present enemy. It isn't long before cabdriver Lokman, who declares himself Sinan's 'chauffeur' and Arif, a local farmer and horse breeder, are part of both Sinan's life and his screenplay. Although plentiful adventures among the magical fairy chimneys, colorful balloons and at the annual grape festival become like a movie for all involved, the happy ending awaited by the boss, Isfendiyar never happens. But the boss insists on his happy ending. And Sinan has to write that ending!

After 8 years, Arif's old friend 216 from planet GORA pays a visit to Earth.Together they go on a quest where they'll be visiting 60's.

Kaan and Mete, co-hosts of a mid 1990s radio show called Kaybedenler Kulübü (Losers' Club), struggle to deal with their daily lives after their show becomes an instant hit. Kaan meets Zeynep, the girl of his dreams, but their relationship comes under pressure as the show continues to stir controversy and attract fans from every segment of Istanbul society.

Scientists trying to solve the environmental crisis of pollution devise a way to send the collected garbage into space via rocket ships. When this garbage starts to land on alien planets, the outraged aliens head to Earth for revenge. King Shakir and his family must do their best to protect the world from alien destruction.

Mermer family, who has been managing a restaurant called “Anatolian flavors” in Haydarpasa train station for generations, consist of 8 members. Even though this family leads a quiet simple life, they will end up finding themselves in complicated situations. Moreover, this family has been keeping a secret for a long time and it just can’t come out at any cost..

The story takes place in the small town of Hakkari in Turkey at the beginning of the '70s. The time has come to bring technology to that small town. The first Television (called Visiontele by the citizens) arrives and the chaos begins.

A woman desperately seeking for a man to love. When he finally arrives, she overlooks him.

A biopic about the Turkish vocal artist Müslüm Gürses. Born into a poor household, Muslum found his redemption in music from the initial trauma that lingered over his musical and personal life as internalizing the grief. He rose through his ashes of shattered dreams like a phoenix. He walked in darkness, sang songs filled with sorrow which stirred people's souls and created a cult following. They were calling him "Baba" (The Father).

After the death of his father Murat II, young Mehmet II ascends to the Ottoman throne. After braving internal and external enemies, he decides to complete what he was destined to do: Conquer Constantinople.

Burdened by troubles and caught between cultures, Riza takes a job as a mall Santa and finds that real life may not be so different from make believe.

An otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline - a collection of darkly humorous, fantasy tales about ill-fated characters and doomed fortune.

Güven, a taxi driver is desperately in love with Meral, but he’s too shy to open up to her. One day he picks up a customer, gets accused of a crime he didn’t commit and his world is turned upside down.

Ismail's son, Tarik returns to his village after long years of being away and announces that he is engaged to a Latvian woman named Nugesha and although he doesn't have the means for it, Ismail still wants to be the one who pays for the expenses of the wedding. Several problems ensue as he tries to make sure that there is enough money for the wedding.

Poet Yusuf (35-38) returns to his childhood hometown, which he hadn't visited for years, upon his mother's death. He is faced with a neglected, crumbling house. Ayla, a young girl (17-19) awaits him there. Yusuf has been unaware of the existence of this distant relation who had been living with his mother for five years; He stays by his dead mother's bedside for a while on the morning of his return...

Zuhtu, a nosy hawker who sells meatballs, one night finds a young girl escaping from her cruel relatives. He intends to help the girl but this costs him too much.

Former sailor Fikret is having trouble settling into his new life in Istanbul and has begun to make use of the local church's facilities. When priest Artin goes on a trip to Vatican, Fikret starts selling off the church's cellar of expensive wines and stays in the priest's room at night. Fikret spends most of his remaining time gambling on horse races and lecturing Asim, a naïve young boy working at the car wash located next door to the church who perceives him as a surrogate as a father figure. Fikret and Asim learn of a rich widowed businesswoman, Deniz, who thinks that her sister, Selen, has had a spell put upon her and is prepared to pay anything to have it lifted. Fikret decides to go to Deniz's house disguised as a priest but gets more than he bargained for.

A queue at the ATM machine, a displaced family after a seismic shock that has half-washed their home, a tour within an art gallery, moments of everyday life that become the cues for the emergence of comic, farce, paradoxical situations – trademarks of one of the most successful Italian comic groups.

A group of drug-influenced lumpen teenagers from the suburbs of the city descends into the center where they do not belong, where they are excluded. They adopted a brutal method to seize rights that were not granted to them. Unaware of what will happen to them, cheerful and well-to-do university students are helpless in the face of this gun-wielding mob that suddenly raids the bar where they are having fun.

Based on a true event, Pardon tells the tragicomic story of three friends who end up in prison when they are mistaken as members of a terrorist organization. Ibrahim's fear of uniforms makes him runaway whenever he sees one. Because of this, police mistakes him with a terrorist and takes him and his friend Muzo into custody. Fooled by the police during the interrogation they name another friend, Aydin, in hope of saving themselves. As they all end up in prison, they remember the families and lovers they left behind.

Elections are approaching and things don't look too good for the opposition. Their leader can't stand the pressure and disappears. To avoid a scandal, the upper echelons of the party concoct a risky plan: to replace him with his identical twin, a philosopher with BPD, whose eclectic ideas and direct approach unexpectedly make the party surge in the polls.

Recep and Nurullah decide to go village house, which is inherited from his grandma. Recep finds out the existence of a big project, that will damage the village and the surrounding forests. Villagers will fight against the project with Recep's leadership.

After living 45 years in Germany, the Turkish Hüseyin Yilmaz, seventy, announces to his family that he has bought a house in Turkey and they should return to make the necessary reforms. The idea is unwelcome and causes very heated discussions. In addition, Canan, a granddaughter of Hüseyin, announces she is pregnant and the father is her English boyfriend, and no one knew anything.

Don Sallust is the minister of the King of Spain. Being disingenuous, hypocritical, greedy and collecting the taxes for himself, he is hated by the people he oppresses. Accused by The Queen, a beautiful princess Bavarian, of having an illegitimate child to one of her maids of honor, he was stripped of his duties and ordered to retire to a monastery.

Clumsy soldiers Şaban and Ramazan fall for a singer-dancer and accidentally become secret policemen tracking down a missing diamond.

Mukhtar Yusuf Ağa’s unregistered village in eastern Anatolia has been championed through letters to government officials, and his lost son İbrahim, rescued and registered by Father Hana, is finally returning at age 30 with his American love Jessica; the question is whether Tinne can become their true homeland.

Years after a divorce divides their family in half, six siblings encounter each other by chance and try to get their parents back together.

A story of the impossible love between one of the Sultan's concubines and one of his eunuchs in a harem at the end of the Ottoman Empire.

Salih and Gürkan, two cousins from Ankara, are struggling musicians that are trying to make a living by performing at private events such as bachelorette parties. Nihat, a low profile event manager, finds a gig for the duo which leads them to encounter with unexpected guests in their "dressing room".

Ferhat is a spoiled man who takes over his father's company. Ferhat's right hand is his childhood friend, the company's finance manager, Gökhan. They are not very kind to their employees. One day they will be friends with the restaurant owner. Ferhat falls in love with the restaurant owner's daughter Elif. But Elif is not a delicate and pure young girl. Her career, her hard character, and her witless intelligence, which are full of special trainings and superior services, will make Ferhat much more difficult.

Orhan who lived in London for years and did not come back to Turkey agrees to help Deniz -a famous director- edit his first book. Deniz has been living in a mansion with his family which started to lose its old brightness and power. Orhan finds himself in the middle of Deniz's complicated relationships, mysterious friends and stange family members. This is the first movie of Ferzan Ozpetek which is shot in Turkey after a long time. It is also based on his own book which has the same name with the movie.

Posing as a private tutor, Azra secretly coaches students on achieving their goals in life and love — but not without a few bumps in the road.

Hale attracted attention with its different appearance and strange behavior. She lives in a historical and eerily house in Nevsehir with her mother, a depressed grandmother and her aunt Azra. Hale's father had disappeared before she was born and was never seen again. Hale sees a nightmare of a terrible night; her father, whom she never saw, invites her to an old and uncanny home.

During an emergency landing on a deserted island suddenly traumatized by antiauthoritarian education Lena Schneider together with the Turkish Super Macho Cem Öztürk must fight for survival. After initially Cem macho repulsive acts on Lena, a jellyfish in the water and sand in a bikini, she recognizes the time the romantic core behind his cool facade. Meanwhile, meet also their parents, who obdurate psychologist Doris and Metin Öztürk to work together to find their missing children. So both generations take an involuntary Turkish Basic Course for beginners.

Don Poli, the patriarch of a family embedded in politics, faces the change of party in his state - after a hundred years in power - losing all his privileges. Humiliated and angry, he threatens to disinherit his family and leave to rebuild his life. This forces his children (Kippy, Ramses and Belén) to take extreme measures to ensure their future, causing everything that could go wrong to turn out worse.

Yusuf is released from prison after serving a ten year sentence. Because of unexpected problems at his sister’s house, he finds himself in a cheap hotel where he meets a man, a woman, and a child who will change his life in unexpected ways…

Ahead of a promotion, a police chief becomes entangled in a deadly incident and uncovers an intrigue fueled by grudge that threatens his colleagues.

The funny little details of everyday life, simple things that make us laugh. An unforgettable performance from Cem Yilmaz. Yilmaz captures the audience with his hilarious stories about relationships, humankind's struggle with the technology and professional life. Yilmaz proves us that a food delivery or even a funeral might be amusing when considered correctly. Written by Elmalma Brand Communication

A former french President, Nicolas, decides to persuade another one, François, to campaign together in order to return to the front stage of politics.

In the southeast region of Turkey, the Kurdish family of Altun lives in a small mountainside village plagued by a 25-year war that makes their daily lives a hellish struggle. As the war intensifies, the family is forced to migrate west to the city of Istanbul.

Bekir loves Uğur, who loves Zagor, who is about to get out of jail. An already tense love triangle is thrown into turmoil on a hot summer night, when Zagor kills someone, and Uğur disappears.

Two Turkish anti-terrorist agents are sent to New York City on a mission to find and bring back the dangerous Islamic leader codenamed "Dajjal", believed to be hiding in there. Working with the FBI and NYPD, the agents orchestrate the arrest of Hadji Gumus, a well-respected Muslim scholar and family man who years before fled to the United States after being released from a Turkish prison, where he served time for murder. This tale love, friendship, peace and prejudices, takes us on a journey seeking to answer the question of whether innocence or guilt even matters to one who lusts for vengeance.

The day after his funeral, the corpse of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a small Georgian town, turns up in his son's garden. Although it is secretly reburied, the corpse keeps returning until the police capture the local woman who is responsible. This woman says that Varlam should never be laid to rest since his Stalin-like reign of terror led to the disappearance of her family and friends.

Nikos is a master of funeral ceremonies (that's undertaker to you and me) who doesn't expect much from life. After drunkenly insulting a diplomat at a party, weird things begin to happen for Nikos. The news that a mysterious stranger offended the hated Deputy Prime Minister galvanizes the political elite assembled at the banquet, and a rumor that Nikos can take care of anything spreads like wildfire, making him an idol of the masses.
