Kuma

I recently saw this movie at TIFF in my hometown. Although it gets a little time to get into the slower pace it deserves every inch of it. It is also a good insight of Turkish traditional family, although emigrated with strict rules that are carried on even in western countries. The film develops the drama slowly until the climax towards the end. The acting is very solid, although they are all Turkish actors. I don't know how famous are they in their own country, but I would give credit to Nihal G. Koldas as Fatma, the authoritarian mother of the family, and Murathan Muslu who plays Hassan, the hard working son hiding a secret that wouldn't be tolerated in such conservative environment. The biggest surprise is the 21 year debut Begüm Akkaya in the role of Ayse , a young Turkish woman sent out for marriage abroad by her family. Her performance is stunning, incredibly fresh and brilliant. I hope to hear more of her in the future. If you have the chance, go for it, you won't regret for sure. andrei Cluj-Napoca, Romania

I rated this movie that high because it really gives an intimate view into a partial integrated Turkish family living in Vienna.

For me such a movie is so precious because I have the feeling that it can help to get a better understanding of a foreign culture in a time of right wing gain of influence everywhere in Europe.

I'm living in Vienna too and the amount of immigrants is on the rise and I often feel threaded by it myself.

Such movies help to open the eyes that they are also no more but simply humans which helps to break up the abstract idea we have about strangers without any clue what or who they really are.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not fond of the (in my eyes) medieval approach of the conservative Turkish-Islamic culture despite it is one of the most progressive in the Islamic world.

On the other hand I'm a bit jealous of the family quality while it got nearly lost in our modern western culture.

But one must keep in mind that their model is carried mostly on the shoulders of the female part of the family (like it was before in the Christian culture in the past).

To get back: It opens a view into their live and encourages the understanding of their culture which is a very important contribution in our "I fear the unknown" world.

One of the most important thing in a given film is acting. There is no doubt in that. And Kuma definitely nailed that. However, the story paste and the writing is as important as acting and Kuma was not that great in that. Given the powerful topic, the writer/s could have done a much better job. For the most part, it was really hard to tell between the time passages, whether it was a day, a month, or a year that passed. For that reason, it was hard to follow it. Also, you could easily guess what was going to happen next. For instance, the mother was in the surgery, but then the father does. How? Why? Nobody knows. I understand that it was for the purpose of raising a suspicion, but I doubt it was as successful. Again, the acting was superb! I was amazed by all the performance the two leading female characters put forth. For those who like dramas, I would suggest them to take a look at it. Although there are some flaws with the film, it is well worth seeing.