The King of the Street Cleaners 1977

Apti, a slow-witted but likeable street cleaner, lives and works in a bustling İstanbul neighborhood. His daily life is shadowed by his brusque, overbearing boss, Şakir, a corrupt Zabıta (Municipal Inspector) who thrives on belittling Apti for minor offenses and making him run errands for Şakir’s meddlesome mother. Despite his good nature, Apti carries a quiet longing for Hacer, a feisty house cleaner who lights up the street with her spirit, and his attempts to win her heart are often foiled by the fact that Hacer is entangled with Şakir.

Şakir’s overbearing mother refuses to allow her son to marry a “lowly cleaner.” İhsan Yüce as Hacer’in Babası makes the decision seem simple at first, but the stubborn love triangle only grows messier. Şakir nevertheless wants to marry Hacer, and after Şakir confronts her, Hacer’s brothers beat him up. Had enough of Şakir’s indecision, Hacer’s father decides to marry her to Apti. Hacer visits the house, and despite the very low impression Apti has left, Hacer’s father allows the match. When the news reaches Şakir, he lashes out, attacking Apti and ordering him to catch all the cats in the neighborhood as a twisted revenge; he also has Hacer’s brothers arrested.

Angered, Hacer attacks Şakir, but the two find a fragile moment of reconciliation during the fight after Şakir promises he will convince his mother. Şakir tries again to persuade his mother to accept the match, but she remains firm in her refusal. In a grimly comic turn, Şakir snaps and tries to push his mother out of a window, only for her to survive the fall onto Apti.

The next evening, Apti goes to Hacer’s house to seal the marriage, but Şakir and his bandaged mother are already there, presenting their own bid for Hacer. Believing that a Municipal official offers a brighter future than a street cleaner, Hacer’s father breaks off the engagement with Apti. Apti storms out in anger and humiliation, and in a famous scene he walks home, flings flowers on the ground, and eats the lokum by himself while the crowd watches. > “Fuck your Flowers!”

The following day, Apti’s doorman friend İsmail nudges him toward a reckless plan: kidnap Hacer so her father will have no choice but to accept him. Apti sneaks into Hacer’s house and tries to carry out the plan, but is quickly stopped by Hacer’s kid brother and flees. Chased by Hacer’s father and brothers, Apti accidentally finds himself in a nightclub and ends up on the stage. In a panic, he begins singing popular folk songs, and the audience responds with cheers. The club owner swiftly hires him as the lead singer.

Days later, posters bearing Apti’s face adorn the town walls. Realizing that she chose Şakir over Apti, Hacer falls ill. Hacer’s father also tries to mend fences, but Apti, still smarting from the earlier rejection, rudely rejects them and returns to the stage. His singing debut goes awry: his clumsiness causes a series of mishaps—he nearly chokes a patron with the microphone cord and accidentally rips off someone’s toupee. He is fired and goes back to his garbage-man job.

Some time later, Hacer and Şakir are married, but happiness is short-lived as Hacer’s fiery nature stirs trouble in the morning and Şakir’s life becomes a tangle between a barking mother and a tempestuous wife. Apti breathes a quiet sigh of relief, recognizing that he dodged a bullet by not marrying such a difficult partner. The film ends on a hopeful note as Apti notices another young cleaner at a nearby window, hinting that love could come his way again.