Turkey/Canada/France– 2019- 72′
A transfixing sophomore feature from 26-year-old Turkish director Burak Çevik, Belonging opens with a story. Not just any story, but a sordid tale of senseless violence: his grandmother’s murder by his Aunt Pelin and her lover Onur. Recalling the performance style favoured by French master Robert Bresson, a man’s voice relays the details of the crime in chilling, affectless monotone – and for while, no actors appear. There are only shots of locations – each corresponding to the story being told – and a sense of impending disaster.
Drawing from his own family trauma, Çevik has fashioned a structurally audacious experience. After that extended prologue, we now observe the initial meeting between Pelin (Eylül Su Sapan) and Onur (Çaglar Yalçinkaya), a soldier currently on leave. Their easy chemistry is palpable from the start, but a sense of foreboding remains. Will their story turn out the same way? A highlight of Berlinale’s Forum section earlier this year, this richly suggestive feature unnerves and seduces all at once.
Film-puzzle dont les pièces s’additionnent pour mieux se dérober, Belonging commence avec la confession d’un meurtre. Un homme raconte comment il a engagé un tueur pour se débarrasser de la mère de sa petite amie qui, selon la jeune fille, s’opposait à leur union. À l’écran, une suite de plans sobres des différents lieux du récit retrace la cartographie du drame. Puis le film change de style et de temps : retour vers le passé, où la rencontre originelle entre les deux amants est soigneusement recréée par des acteurs. Leurs interactions sont chargées de toute la tension élaborée dans la première partie. Pour cet intrigant thriller, le réalisateur turc Burak Çevik adopte une démarche aussi singulière qu’envoûtante, interrogeant les raisons troubles derrière les crimes passionnels. (RIDM)
- Director /Réalisateur
Burak Çevik
- Festivals
Berlinale, New Directors/New Film, Vancouver, Calgary, RIDM
- Quotes/Critques
“Belonging is a therapeutic gesture that rises above psychological and moral judgments to navigate the complexity of family history.” – Yonca Talu, Film Comment
- Stills
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