I saw this movie last Saturday and have been thinking about it a lot over the last few days. It is truly a brilliant film. I loved the raw power and violent emotions that the characters experience and which hit the viewer like a ton of bricks.
the two leads who play Cahit and Sibel are just amazing, Birol Unel especially manages to convey the despair, self loathing and loneliness of his character with a physicality that's just striking. it is to his credit that we, the viewers, can never despise him despite his violent and frequently obnoxious behaviour. In the beginning of the movie, Cahit is a wreck and although it would be simplistic to say that love "saves" him, it is certain that the collision of his life with Sibel's is cataclysmic.
the movie's real power lies with the fact that the characters are truly multidimensional and complex, they experience conflicting emotions and desires and ultimately it is their incapacity to understand what is happening to them which leads to their downfall. They are so used to suffering and struggling and to using people and being used that when suddenly they fall in love, they can't even recognise what is happening to them until it is too late.
I don't think you need to be Turkish, or an immigrant, to feel deep empathy with Sibel and Cahit. Their story is not just the story of two people "lost in translation" and suspended between different cultures. they are just a man and a woman who don't really know who they are or what they want and are looking for a slice of happiness in all the wrong places, until they happen to stumble upon each other. And even then, their love cannot save them from falling back through the cracks.
In summary, a magnificent achievement and a truly brilliant film. I look forward to seeing more from Faith Akin, Birol Unel, and Sibel Kekilli.
the two leads who play Cahit and Sibel are just amazing, Birol Unel especially manages to convey the despair, self loathing and loneliness of his character with a physicality that's just striking. it is to his credit that we, the viewers, can never despise him despite his violent and frequently obnoxious behaviour. In the beginning of the movie, Cahit is a wreck and although it would be simplistic to say that love "saves" him, it is certain that the collision of his life with Sibel's is cataclysmic.
the movie's real power lies with the fact that the characters are truly multidimensional and complex, they experience conflicting emotions and desires and ultimately it is their incapacity to understand what is happening to them which leads to their downfall. They are so used to suffering and struggling and to using people and being used that when suddenly they fall in love, they can't even recognise what is happening to them until it is too late.
I don't think you need to be Turkish, or an immigrant, to feel deep empathy with Sibel and Cahit. Their story is not just the story of two people "lost in translation" and suspended between different cultures. they are just a man and a woman who don't really know who they are or what they want and are looking for a slice of happiness in all the wrong places, until they happen to stumble upon each other. And even then, their love cannot save them from falling back through the cracks.
In summary, a magnificent achievement and a truly brilliant film. I look forward to seeing more from Faith Akin, Birol Unel, and Sibel Kekilli.