Dir/Wri: Türker Süer | Cast: Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, Berk Hakman | Turkey 87′
Duty and honour are pitted against family loyalties in this sober and stylish arthouse thriller that swings on moral and ethical concerns for two brothers, gradually exposing Turkey as a nation more polarised that ever and caught between East and West.
Sinan and Kenyan have always been close but their brotherhood is put to the test reflecting the narrative’s societal fractures when Sinan, a lieutenant in the Turkish army, is asked to hand over his brother Kenan to a military court, charged with disobedience and desertion.
Still troubled by their father’s tragic death and the questions surrounding their own cultural identity (their mother was not of Turkish birth), the brothers embark – Midnight Run style without the humour – on a journey through a country marked by political unrest. During a military coup it soon emerges that evidence that caused their father to commit suicide was fabricated and Sinan used as a pawn by his superiors. In a country where the State demands absolute loyalty, the brothers must decide if they are ready to face the sacrifices required by their duty and their conscience despite their own fragile status.
Turkish directors love the widescreen camera and that’s exactly what you get here with Matteo Cocco’s cinematography serving the film well. A resonant score brings to mind that unforgettable 1970s title Midnight Express. Spare of dialogue and seething with atmosphere this noirish existential thriller never outstays in welcome. Simple but deadly. @MeredithTaylor
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL | HORIZONS EXTRA 2024