In Takva A Mans Fear of God, director Ozer Kiziltan has tackled one of lifes most difficult questions and, in so doing, has created an extraordinary piece of cinema: if we base our lives on a belief in God, and then experience a crisis of faith, are we losing God or is God abandoning us because of our questioning? Muharrem (Erkan Can) is a forty-five-year-old single man, living in one of the oldest residential districts in Istanbul, in the very house in which he was born. He works every day as the assistant to a sack trader, the same job he has held since he was eleven years old. The conservative and traditional behaviour of his late parents and of his community have led Muharrem to be an introvert, so his exceptionally simple life centres on his total devotion to the services and exercises of a religious sect. The core of Muharrems life is his bedrock belief in and fear of God. Takva provides extraordinary riches to the viewer. Initially it offers a rarely-seen glimpse into the world of conservative Turkish Muslims, which has a beauty and hypnotic power entirely its own. Then we are drawn into Muharrems small universe with its very large questions. Cinematically stunning and skilfully made, the film tackles those important struggles that all too often go unexplored in a complex modern world.