CWC D: Yesim Ustaoglu. Turkey/Germany/ Poland/France. 105 min. Sep 11, 3:45 pm, Scotiabank 13 Sep 13, 12:30 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 Sep 16, 6:30 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2. Rating: NNN
Writer/director Ustaoglu, another strong Turkish feminist, presents two seemingly different women: Elmas (Ecem Uzun), who has been forced by her fundamentalist family into a marriage with a distant cousin, and Chehnaz (Funda Eryigit), a psychiatrist living comfortably with her architect husband.
When Chehnaz starts treating Elmas after the young woman has a breakdown, she begins to question her own relationship, and it’s soon obvious that their lives are two sides of the same patriarchal coin.
There are some clunky sections – a one-note gestalt session with Elmas goes on way too long. But it’s also gorgeous. Cinematographer Michael Hammon does wonders contrasting closed spaces with the spectacular natural vistas that awaken Chehnaz.
