SnoopyStyle Umay leaves her abusive husband Kemal in Istanbul with her son Cem to go home to Germany. Her father Kader is concerned about the family's honor. The older brother Mehmet is angry. The youngest brother Acar is scared but kind. Kemal rejects Umay but wants his son Cem back. As Kader and Mehmet try to force the situation, Umay calls the police and she escapes with Cem to a women's shelter. She finds a job with a supportive boss and a new boyfriend. Her younger sister Rana is rejected by her fiancee's father due to the situation. Rana tells her mother that she's desperate to marry Duran because she's secretly pregnant. Kader has to pay off the father to get them married. Umay shows up unexpectedly at the wedding and has a meltdown. Even Acar is forced to confront the lost of family honor.The portrait of the lost of family honor is devastating. The pressure feels real. The need for Umay to reconnect with her family does feel unreasonable and excessive. I doubt a reasonable Umay would show up at the wedding. After the wedding, it seems impossible for her to go to the hospital especially carrying her son with her. Then the final scene has too many twists. It only accentuates the twisty manufactured nature of the writing. Writer/director Feo Aladag needs to tone down some of the more melodramatic developments in the last act.

Sindre Kaspersen Austrian screenwriter, producer and director Feo Aladag's feature film debut which she wrote and co-produced, premiered in the Panorama section at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in 2010, was shot on location in Turkey and Germany and is a German production which was produced by Turkish screenwriter, producer and director Züli Aladag. It tells the story about a 25-year-old woman named Umay Aslan who after having had an operation at a hospital in Germany, returns to Istanbul, Turkey where she lives with her adolescent son named Cem, her husband named Kemal and his family. Umay has gotten enough of all the suppression she has endured from Kemal, and the day after her return she packs her bags, takes her son, leaves her miserable marriage and travels to Germany where she thinks she will be welcomed by her parents named Kader and Halyme whom is living there with her brothers named Mehmet and Arcan and her sister named Rana. Distinctly and precisely directed by Austrian filmmaker Feo Aladag, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a reflective and increasingly dramatic portrayal of an adult Turkish-German woman whom after making a decision regarding the best interest and future of her child and herself comes to her parents believing that they will support her viewpoint and learns that their stand on her choice is that she is selfish and that she has disgraced the family name. While notable for it's atmospheric and naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by German cinematographer Judith Kaufmann, production design by German production designer Silke Buhr and use of sound, colors and light, this character-driven and narrative-driven story about family relations where the youngest daughter in a family who is about to get married suffers the consequences of her sister's actions, a father and mother and their two sons becomes so ashamed due to their regard of other peoples thoughts and views that they disown their family member and a mother who will no longer jeopardize the well-being of herself and her son for the sake of honouring the expectations of others, depicts two isolating and merging studies of character and contains a great score by German-born British composer Max Richter and Czech composer Stéphane Moucha.This cinematographic, consequential and gently romantic drama from the late 2000s which is set during a summer in Germany in the 21st century and where a father is struggling to forgive his eldest daughter whom has gone against his will and a courageous woman whom is unwanted by her family is heard by a friend and meets a German man named Stipe, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, rhythmic continuity, pivotal instrumental tones and dialog, scenes of Umay, Umay and Cem and Umay and Stipe and the poignant acting performances by German actress of Turkish descent Sibel Kekilli, Turkish-born German actress Nursel Köse, Turkish actor Settar Tanriögen, Turkish-German actor Tamer Yigit and German actor Florian Lukas. A subtle, sociological and gracefully humane directorial debut which gained, among several other awards, the Label Europa Cinemas Award Feo Aladag at the 60th Berlin Film Festival in 2010.

mgungora The basic plot is simple: a young lady with a crazy in-laws feds up and leaves making her a total outcast. The acting seemed a bit too dramatic and overly polished. The actors are obviously talented and have done their best, but it showed that they were trying too hard, which took away the realism I was anticipating. More than a few scenes were simply yelling and slapping which I've found quite raw. The close-ups were nice generally with beautiful faces, occasionally with oblique views. At times, when we were shown a scene with people staring at each other silently which meant that the discussion was over, I wondered if that was really the case and not if we were witnessing a zen moment. As a side note, I just have to point out that the subject of film has little to do with religion or being a "muslim". The problem is far too deep which is really a sociological phenomena rooted in dogmatic cultural upbringings and a feudal life style (mostly) of the eastern part of country where people are just a dot in the family picture rather than individuals with autonomy. You could see that nobody in the family wanted to be a part of what was going on but they could not behave otherwise -- they were slaves of their communities even thousands of miles away.

Jason Lin Feo Aladag's debut feature comes to you with such a powerful presence that it is unlikely anyone will falter under her silver screen plea of sincerity and truth about violence against women and their rights under religious restraints. This narrative drama is void of plot clichés and feels a lot like a documentary, convincing of an ill-fated woman's horrible chapter captured on film.Austrian actress Aladag's first feature film is powerful and overwhelming for the film community, depicting a Muslim woman's struggle for freedom and human rights in the light of religious complications. It is made with such rawness that is almost too convincing as a drama genre film, feeling more like a documentary on the big screen. There is almost no single scene in it that makes you go "Hmm, that is scripted" even though it is, by Aladag herself.We are looking at superb directing and writing here by a first time feature film-maker, which is a wonderful surprise that leaves us craving for more of her works to come. Perhaps it is her passion to promote anti-violence against women as well as women's rights, allowing her to be devoted towards this film as a mass media tool of propaganda for a good cause.I for one, am very convinced and inspired by her film.Sibel Kekilli (previously earning accolades for "Head-On") deserves (Oscar nomination worthy) recognition for her portrayal of Umay as she manages her emotions so well to evoke strong feelings within the audience. I felt so much for Umay and her son Cem, wondering how can such tragedy befall upon them and at some points experiencing this passive urge to extend my helping hand towards them.No film has ever made me feel this way.Aladag illustrates the modern European society's concerns over integrating Muslim immigrants into the EU community, where the line to draw between intercultural tolerance and interference is vaguely debatable. Just how much can one's deprival of basic human rights be justified by any religion, the very one that supposedly exists to give us hope, security, and moral guidance?Pressurised by how the conservative Muslim community judges their family based upon Umay's individual revolt against norms, her family becomes very uptight and volatile regarding the new found woe and remains adamant against her doings. There is very little act of love revealed under their furious demeanour throughout the film, but I do believe that Umay does hold a place in their hearts no matter how small it is becoming. Her religious family has perhaps overtly regarded faith as the utmost authority that cannot be defied, one that even transcends blood ties.Interestingly, her two brothers played an integral part in conveying the sentiments of the young Muslim generation. Both brothers did not know what they should do, except by faith and teachings since young to always follow the intentions of their parents. None of them tried to hold rational family discussions to speak on this, where everything is decided by the head of the family. With their parents heavily stuck in the mud of traditional values and culture intolerance, the brothers eventually caved in and followed suit to resist their sister.Umay and Cem are being ill-treated by her abusive husband (coerced sexual activities and violence), leaves him and runs home to her family who regards her act as a shameful disgrace. Umay's father mentioned that upon marriage, she belongs to her husband. Does that mean that she has to suffer silently even when her husband tears off a limb or two from her or even end her life? It is also cruelly brought up that when her family has to choose between the community and Umay, they will never choose her.These are questions that one has to ask oneself, regardless of religion and cultural background.In 2005, 23 year-old Hatun Sürücü was shot to death by her youngest brother, at the instruction of his family, at a bus stop near her residence. This was classified as one of the shocking "Honour killings" trend in Germany, where the father has actually ordered for the murder of his own daughter. Hatun was married against her will to her cousin for eight years and decided to leave him with her then five year-old son. Hatun was pursuing an education and an internship as an electrician after she left her husband.This film follows with reference to the 2005 tragedy, but the ending (though similarly unfortunate in nature) is not the one as mentioned above. So no spoilers pertaining to the film's ending.A simple issue of a woman's ill-treatment by her abusive husband and her decision to leave her misery behind for a better life that everyone deserves. There is no religious implications here. It is not up to God to decide who should be ill-treated or deprived of human rights, it is up to us to stop violence and unjust treatment as fellow human beings. Sadly, although the misfortune of Umay (and Hatun) was derivative of religious intolerance, the entire affair has nothing to do with religion.Umay has removed her head scarf in the film ever since her family disapproves of her intentions. This may be deemed as her disregard of and revolt against religion, but I feel that it is more of a revolt against unjustified suppression of her personal freedom and rights. Her removal of her scarf may simply imply that it has nothing to do with religion.Just as what Umay's superior has said to her father during an unannounced home visit,"Leave Him out of it, God has nothing to do with this".