Just saw this on DVD and loved it, apart from the ending which was utterly tragic.
But I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the trip Umay's father, Kader, goes on by himself. Possibly he travels to Turkey, but it could be somewhere else in the Middle East.
Does anyone know why he goes there and who he sees? Might it be his brother? There was no dialogue/subtitles at all during these scenes so I'm a bit puzzled by it. Anyone have any ideas?
He went there to talk to his father or something- in my opinion, to talk about and ask permission regarding the honour killing of his daughter. That's what I think the reason is. It explains the silence when we went back home, asked his sons to do it- the youngest one in particular. And since he wasn't able to do his task, his older brother to the rescue.
shareProbably it was his brother. Umay mentions before how her father greatly respected her uncle for doing his own thing. So he went back to Turkey to ask for advice and he told them to kill her. Otherwise the honor killing seemed a bit over the top and came from nowhere, but if an authority in the family told them it has to be done, then it makes sense.
share@JenkzBruce and @Novosibirsk, thanks both for your thoughts, that all makes sense :)
shareLike all eastern cultures, Turkish culture has a very conservative set of "rules" which we call "tore" which are unfortunately still valid in the rural part of the country, especially in the eastern side. The decision of killing Umay according to "tore" however shall be done by the consensus of family members, especially the older ones. This is why Kader goes to his brother in Turkey, to discuss what he must do according to "tore". When you see the next scene you understand that they decided to kill her to save their family honour. The younger brother is appointed for this, since he is under 18 which will help him to get a shorter time in prison.
shareSPOILERS, of course
I didn't remember the uncle, and wondered who the other man might be; forgetting that honor killings are a family thing, I thought it might be some other respected elder. But it was clear that this set of silent scenes, and the next one after he returned home, involved the decision to go ahead with the honor killing. Much more effective to let the viewer figure that out, based on the opening of the film, than to show us the actual dialogue. Because, really, that is an unspeakable act.
Doing the whole story in flashback was a brilliant choice. That it was going to end in a possible honor killing is clear very early on. The only question we have is whether her brother is sobbing on the bus because he has gone through with it, or because he had realized he could not go through with it. So there is still dramatic tension -- although I felt pretty sure that he would not. I didn't foresee what happened next, though.
Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.share
It was pretty obvious the younger brother was sobbing on the bus because he had just witnessed what occurred.
What a gut-wrencher this film was.