In Darkness

One of Çağan Irmak's harshest and least loved films, and the point where he deliberately steps away from the sentimental register he is known for. Egemen is in his thirties, works as an office assistant at an advertising agency, and lives with his mother Gülseren. After a trauma years earlier Gülseren stopped leaving the flat and became a woman who feels besieged inside it; the curtains stay shut, there are enemies outside, and Egemen is the sole witness to and sole carer of that belief. The real subject is not the mother's illness but how the son dissolves into caring for her. Egemen cannot defend himself outside and is a functionary of a world one woman has built inside. Erdem Akakçe plays Egemen and Meral Çetinkaya plays Gülseren, with Derya Alabora in support. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 27 August 2009 and opened in Turkey on 2 October 2009. It runs a hundred minutes. Who it is for: viewers who like enclosed psychological thrillers, and anyone who wants to see Meral Çetinkaya work. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the feeling of My Father and My Son from the same director. It is dark, it offers no relief, and it was criticised for treating mental illness as a puzzle to be solved.