Small but important Swiss film on the subject of a young man of Turkish origin who discovers he is gay and is then pressganged by his family into returning to the Turkish village he came from to be married in an arranged wedding. You don’t know what it’s like being Turk says Beyto and we can say the same of people from most traditional cultures. Worse still is that he has moved on from his tribe and is a champion swimmer and getting excellent grades in IT.
Back in Bern, his boyfriend doesn’t want to know anything and he has this young bride who doesn’t speak the language and is lost.
Another film about the messes we humans create in the name of religion, culture and tradition. The worst is that the parents think they are doing the right thing until very late on when it become clear that no one except public opinion is happy and even that is falling apart.
I liked this film by Gitta Gsell. It is simple and to the point. It is a little uneven in parts and the ending is rushed but rather than a drawn out reiterative number.
Burak Ates is convincing as the lead (Beyto) , his boyfriend Mike (Dimitri Stapfer) is perhaps less sympathetic
and there are nice turns from Eçem Scher as Seher, the bride and Beren Tuna as Beyto’s mother. The vast gap between cosmopolitan Switzerland and a village near Ankara is caught well in all its vastness and the dilemma that Beyto has of trying to get out of this situation with any kind of win-win is well put.
3 stars
passionfilm 