Abluka - Jeder misstraut jedem

51st KVIFF - well done by the Turks. (04.07.2016)

Several times, the Turks have convinced me that they can make an absolutely disarming movie…with everything it takes. I remember the times of the TV show Ezel that introduced me to the life of rich Turkish people in the outskirts of Istanbul. The movie Abluka is similar, only rich people have been replaced with poor people, which added to the roughness. The most important thing is that the entire plot stems from a misunderstanding between two people who depend on each other and who are brothers at the same time. I really loved the setting – it looked really bleak and the snow added the right patina. Many won’t believe it, but that’s exactly what I experienced in Istanbul years ago. It snowed so much overnight – more snow than what we got in the past few years put together. In this case, you won’t mind the 119 minutes because you will get such a brutal unravelling that you won’t even feel like having lunch or dinner. More likely, you will look for a big shot of the worst vodka you can find in your secret hideout to wash away that bitterness of the human condition. That’s how rough the ending is. (12.12.2015)