Where do you do draw the line between art and gratuitous provocation? Refugee Mustafa (Aziz Çapkurt) asks second unit assistant director Elif (Devrim Lingnau): “Why do you need such a provocation scandal for your movie?”. The source ofhis irritation: director-writer duo of Yiğit (Serkan Kaya) and Lilith (Nicolette Krebitz) have burned a Qur’an for their newest film. Shooting a feature on the fire attack in Solingen in May 1993, during which five women and girls of Turkish origin were murdered in a night-time arson attack by a right-wing extremist, the set has, of course, to look alght. But, did Yiğit, the westernised son of Turkish immigrants, really have to burn a real Qur’an?
Büyükatalay shows images of the protests in support of free speech two decades ago, in the light of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. The director isn’t particularly interested in having a philosophical debate. Instead, he wishes to examine each character’s reaction through the lens of a moody suspense thriller, peppered with a little ideology.
At the centre of his story is Elif, who is tasked with transporing the refugee extras back to their respective home and later. He is also asked to take the controversial tapes with footage of the burned Qur’an to Yiğit’s and Lilith’s place. Elif, who herself has a Turkish parent, also sees no problem in the burning. Her standpoint, however, is fuelled by career enthusiasm, and working with these renowned directors. Her plans quickly go awry once she realises that she lost the keys to their apartment. Afraid to ask Lilith for help, she resorts to the locksmiths. Now unable to lock the door and paranoid that this event impact her career, she tries to replace the key, while also dealing with the fears of the refugees. “Today Qur’an, tomorrow Muslims”, they tell her.
Büyükatalay plays with familiar suspense tropes. Is someone entering the apartment at night? Who is that stranger, sending a text that he found the key and then later deleting his number? At times, it feels like Murphy’s Law has set in. Lilith and Yiğit later enter the picture again only to tell her, that the cassettes are gone. Has she lost them? What else could possibly go wrong? At times, it feels like Murphy’s Law has set in.
Western hypocrisy becomes exposed. “They make films just so Europe can have a clean conscience”, Mustafa points out. Meanwhile, second-generation Turks confront Yigit: “You know nothing about us, you just happen to have a Turkish name”. The two creators have a different approach. While Yiğit remains uncompromising about his artistic vision, Lilith is a little more flexible. She’s prepared the reshoot the scene in order to prevent the scandal from spiralling out of control. What they have in common is their desire to save their own skin, a trait shared with the hapless protagonist Elif. That’s about the only time empathy becomes mandatory.
Stay tuned for a smart build-up of tensions, a bonkers finale, and a cathartic pay-off!
It’s very likely that the film contains autobiographical elements: Büyükatalay is a German-born filmmaker with Turkish background
Hysteria premiered in the Panorama section of the 75th Berlinale, when this piece was originally written. Also showing at Tiff Romania.
