A five-year-old learns politics through playground exile while his mother rots in prison.
In the early days of the September 12 military coup, five-year-old Metin waits for his mother, singing to himself as he looks out the window. But his mother, Ayten, has been arrested and sent to prison. Since the child is alone at home, they take him to his mother in her cell, but despite all her jokes and games, Metin is aware of what is happening. The next day, Metin's grandfather Hüseyin Efe, who lives on Bozcaada, comes to take him, and Metin's days of freedom on the island begin. His friends exclude him because of the "communist" label his mother has been given. Yet Metin cannot even properly say the word "communist." Metin, affected by the exclusion, has another concern: his father’s photo is also on the “Wanted” posters hanging all over the island.
Direction
Atıf Yılmaz's restrained hand lets horror exist in negative space.
Acting
Kutay Özcan delivers one of cinema's most devastating child performances.
Director
Atıf Yılmaz
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1980 Turkish coup d'état killed 50+ people and imprisoned half a million; Bozcaada's Greek-Turkish population made it a unique exile space for political families.
Atıf Yılmaz shot on location during actual tensions; local children were cast as Metin's tormentors, blurring documentary and fiction.
TR
