CERT: TBC / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Ayse (Billur Melis Koç) has been cheating on her husband and wants to leave him. These things happen, and the consequences can be huge for all involved. Unfortunately, this is Turkey and her husband and her family don’t take this kind of thing likely. Not only have they murdered her lover, they are now chasing Ayse across country. Her sister wants nothing to do with her, and her brothers and father are in the posse who are determined to restore the family’s honour.

Director Emre Akay and co-writer Deniz Cuylan have given us a brutal look into the patriarchal view of the Turkish people (hopefully not shared by all). Billur Melis Koç is fantastic as the woman whose only ‘crime’ was to fall for another man while married. The evil and ferocity that she is faced with is appalling, even more so because we know things like this go on, even today. The stunning scenery is juxtaposed with the violence of the men, with a child even dragged along and made to join in with the lynch mob. Even the people she meets and attempts to get help from see her with distrust, as she’s a lone woman.

It’s a brave and affecting movie that, while it can’t be seen as enjoyable, is certainly impressive and hits more than a few nerves.