KURAK GÜNLER / BURNİNG DAYS

KURAK GÜNLER / BURNİNG DAYS

TD;lr: Turkish goverment is trying to mess up a movie with a queer storyline, its a great movie and you should watch it to support it.

9/10

Besides the stunning cinematography and excellent acting by all of the leads (especially Selahattin Paşalı), this movie is a setting stone for Turkish cinema for a political reason, too.

TURKISH GOVERMENT AND QUEER SUBTEXT

Without giving the plot away, I want to note that while I would not consider this movie as 'queer cinema' it has a storyline revolving around its two male leads, their chemistry is undeniable and one of the main drivers of the story.

The spoiler free version is that, there is a queer relationship and even while it does not have explicit scenes, it has been getting a lot of attention from right wing media from the moment it aired in festivals. After negative press about "homosexual propoganda" the ministry of culture decised to "get their funding back, with interest."

This is the most pathatic thing I've ever heard tbh. The movie's first draft apparently did not include a queer aspect to the two leads' relationship and the ministery approved to support it. (Its an art house film that was suppose to attend many festivals world wide and it is currently doing so.) Then they revised the script and sent it to do the ministery as well, 20 months ago. And now they want their money back because homophobes are mad.

I believe anyone who lives in a country with corruption (I guess most of the world, sadly) will relate heavily to this story and share the frustration of living in an unjust world.

A QUICK SUMMARY WITHOUT SPOILERS

Hopefully you are as pissed as I'm and would like to watch this movie to say 'fuck you' to bigots, you should be able to find it many cities in Turkey and Europe.

The movie revolves around a young prosecutor named Emre and it starts with him moving to a small town. The elections are close and the town has a plotically divided atmosphere and Emre finds himself in the middle of an open case that revolves around the town's water source.

The movie highlights the injustices of a currupt town and a goverment and the helpless feeling of trying to fight this injustices but struggle at every turn. Along side a rape case of a young girl, the town's main focus shifts to a rumor of the nature of two men. This highlights the irony- nobody cares about a Romani girl getting raped, but everybody talks about these men. Its frustrating, the movie set in a setting without water, everybody is thirsty, its hot and its suffocating. The setting creates a helpless feeling in Emre and the viewer.

It is an absolute thriller that had me at the edge of my seat. At Emre's every moment where he stood his ground, I was holding my breath.

QUEER "SUBTEXT"

If you read this far and want to now more and do not care about SPOILERS, go ahead.

The queer relationship revolves around the prosecutor Emre and the town's journalist Murat. Their relationship was definietly beyond subtext, eventhough it was open to intrepretation to how far they have gone with each other, it was clear they were drawn to each other one way or another.

The relationship is beyond subtext because for starters, Murat is introduced as an outcast of the town, a journalist with a sharp tongue and from the start people tell Emre of his 'unorthodox ways'. Murat's sexual oriantation is a talk of the town and its clear that he had been bullied and harrased for a long time. As they get close, both the nature of their relationship is questioned as well as their their stand against town's traditions.

The lack of clear water in town was portrayed stunningly. Especially for Emre's and Murat's relationship. Everytime they were around each other, it was near a lake or a shower and even then they were not able to relax due to external pressure of the events around them.

All in all, Selahhatin Paşalı's portrayel was amazing, his feelings were more subtle and open to intrepretation yet much more powerful in my opinion. I liked that even in very intimiate moment they were calling each other Mr. And called each other with the formal 'you' until the very end.

The main focus of the movie is not their love story yet their dynamic elevates the rest of the story and brings attention to very important topics. I hope it will get the attention it deserves, from outside of Turkey, too.