Indie Gems: When We Leave

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Where's the honor in this?

 Umay (Sibel Kekilli) lives in Turkey with her young son, Cem (Nizam Schiller) and her husband Kemal. (Ufuk Bayraktar) Kemal is abusive. He pushes Ulmay around, rapes her, and also hits their young son. Umay takes Cem back to her family in Germany for solace, but since she left her husband, she's "dishonoring" her family and they try to force her to go back. When she refuses, she creates even more tension. Especially when she wants nothing more to be surrounded by family.

 Full disclosure, this movie is fucking devastating. I haven't felt this empty watching a film in a long time. It's good, it's very good. You can tell it didn't have a huge budget and was probably shot on a hand held camera, but the story is captivating. Umay really loves her family despite nearly every single one of them slapping her at one point in the film. I would've said "fuck it" and left about 15 minutes in, but Umay stays. She wants Cem to know her family.

 Kekilli surprised me. I always thought she was the weakest link on Game of Thrones acting wise but she blew me away here. She's amazing. And Schiller is the most adorable little dude. You feel so bad for a child that small being caught up in all of this. 

 It's hard to recommend a sad movie, but you're morbidly curious now, right? Maybe you just need a reason to cry something out?

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "When we leave, it's important that you leave something behind." - Umay

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 1, 2016 at 6:39 AM

    YES!!!! You saw this! I told you Kekilli was brilliant here! Devastating is right, though. Like, it killed me, but the film is so worth seeing for Kekilli's tragic performance. The wedding scene...her collapse outside...UGH!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 1, 2016 at 6:42 AM

      It really is. After watching her on Game of Thrones, I'm shocked she gave his great of a performance, but it was worth it. Thank you for recommending!

      Delete
  2. m.brownJuly 1, 2016 at 7:02 AM

    I doubt I'll ever see this film, but if it devastated you and Fisti...it'll likely kill me.

    Totally intrigued, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 1, 2016 at 9:10 AM

      As a parent, the final scene is one of the worst...like...ever.

      Delete
    2. Brittani BurnhamJuly 1, 2016 at 11:12 AM

      This movie hits you hard as a parent in general, but omg that final scene. That was the worst.

      Delete

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