This movie is the reason I have registered to IMDb, because I really felt like I had to put a realistic review along with the other non-sense reviews I've seen on here. I will divide my review into two sections as follows:

Quality of the work:

This isn't a good movie. It's a story about a religious leader, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, who was truly an influenced person for his area and had an quite interesting story. This could be a seriously interesting work to be watched, but unfortunately it really lacks from quality elements for a movie. I am not an experienced film critic, but after watching at least 1 movie every night for whole my life long, you can easily understand this movie has a cast which can't act at all. It hurts to watch how the main actor suffers from this talent. Movie proceeds with flashbacks, but it is not well established since the viewer still gets bored. Even though the story is really interesting, the movie tells the story in the worst basic, boring and amateur possible way. Therefore, I can gladly say, only an amateur like me should criticize this movie as this will be a laughable and waste of time material for a professional.

Accuracy of the truth:

It's absolutely correct to say that Said Nursi was an important religious icon for his time and as a Turkish, I was already aware of his story before the movie. This movie showed him as a religious hero and this can be debatable as many other resources state he was a traitor for his country as well. However, I have no place to make an assumption like this, because I also read about his story quite similar to this biographic movie's story. However, after watching one scene, I personally started to question the whole story's accuracy and unfortunately this is the scene which makes the movie earn money. Otherwise, I doubt this movie would have been even heard or watched: *Spoiler* Based on some resources, it is being stated as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the creator and great leader of Turkish Republic) invited Said Nursi for an event and let him give a speech. After the speech, Ataturk had a meeting with him in order to discuss more. However, it is never completely proved that they have even met or Said Nursi was invited. This movie shows a scene where Said Nursi raises his voice against Ataturk as "Pashaaa! PASHAAA!" and gets insulted by his words. Every Turkish and even many foreign people know how a great leader Ataturk was. Let's be objective and assume I am not a follower of Ataturk. Then there is this truth: Ataturk was the greatest leader in the region who has just created a new nation out of a fallen massive empire such as Ottoman Empire and saved the people from the invasion of many other countries. He put an end to rebellions in any necessary way and he brought people in front of the judgement for any kind of mistake towards the nation, including his second-in-hand commander Kazim Karabekir. So how can such a powerful leader can let a religious leader get away after being rude towards himself? I find it quite funny to believe this. After seeing this, I find it hard to believe the accuracy of the rest of the movie.

In summary; don't watch the movie, just read a book if you are interested in Said Nursi's life.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this man and the historical events of that time. I watched it over a few sittings as I had to follow the English subtitles. I thought it was really well scripted and acted - the characters seemed very real. A very motivational film and I feel glad that I watched it.

This is a very ambitiously made film trying to give the audience an accurate account of the life of famous Turkish preacher Said Nursi, a.k.a. Said Kurdi (Said the Kurd) or his nickname Bediuzzaman (the wonder of the age). In this the film succeeds. His main teachings of scientific progress without abandoning religion and brotherly love and unity between Turks and Kurds are also wonderfully told.

The main criticisms I have for this film are three fold. The movie was made by a fan for other fans,and as such is less accessible for people who do not know anything about Said Nursi. As a fan I would have wanted it to be more accessible to the general public. The second point is the length and breadth of the film. At 3 hours, it's far too long and the story becomes unnecessarily convoluted. The third is the lack of characterful actors and story arcs. Except for Mursid Aga Bag who plays Said Nursi, the only memorable supporting actor is Ahmet Yenilmez, who only plays a small roll as the guard, but shines at it.