Anyone else think there was only one main character in the film? It's obvious that Mahmut (Muzaffer Özdemir) is the one character and Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak) is only his past younger self.
References to Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979) and Mirror (1975) are briefly in the film.
"Without mercy, a man is not a human being." Sansho the Bailiff, 1954
I had the same thought after watching maybe 3/4 of the film - but I'm not sure. The interesting thing is the ending, though:
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!
The cigarette package left by Yusuf, with one cigarette + the lighter, suggests Yusuf's no longer alive. But did he jump into the Bosphorus - or did he not exist in the first place, and Mahmut is looking back at his youth?
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Sorry if I'm being thick, but why would this suggest that Yusuf is no longer alive?
"Just forget you ever saw it. It's better that way."
Maybe there is room for ambiguity. One of the women that Yusef follows, looks a lot like Mahmut's ex wife. I wasn't sure if it was her or not. The resemblance may give credence to a reading of Yusef as a representation of Mahmet's younger self.
"Just forget you ever saw it. It's better that way."