Kosmos

Love is finally embodied in a Reha Erdem picture as the filmmaker looks directly to the mystical world. A mysterious young man arrives at a snow-covered border town. He might be a harmless vagabond, a thief, a lunatic, or a shaman. Nobody mentions shamanism, yet he displays many surreal signs of shamanic practice and ecstasy. The locals don’t know what to think about this stranger who eats only sugar cubes, doesn’t want a job, and talks continually about love and Allah (although his interest in sensual love doesn’t jibe with what the locals understand as divine love). Erdem here puts the theme of the conflict between society and the individual in a context of cosmic lyricism. While the expressive sound design (his own) supports the spiritual-political-military unease of the town’s atmosphere, the visuals alternate between views of the earth (life), underground (death), and sky (eternity). (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)