If Albert Brooks is still looking for comedy in the Muslim world, he could do worse than take a look at Omer Vargi & Tolgay Ziyal’s darkly satiric Under Construction. At an Istanbul building site, Ali and Sudi daydream and occasionally work until one night their boss shows up to bury a stiff on the property. The two bumpkins quickly shed their naïveté and adapt to their new roles as undertakers for whoever has an inconvenient cadaver on his hands. To quell the suspicions of the nosy biddy next door, they tell her that the late-night traffic comes from those seeking amulets and advice from Ali, who is actually a mystical sheikh. When word of that gets out, the amulet trade proves almost as lucrative as the burials, but to be on the safe side Ali secretly records the confessions of his clients on DVD. Under Construction’s style and humor can be as half-baked as the title suggests, but under the surface lie disturbing truths waiting for the light of day.
