With an echo of Roman Polanski’s classic Repulsion, this Turkish film centers on a young woman who retreats from a rapidly changing society into her own home, where hallucinations and paranoia are rife. Hasret (Algi Eke) works as a video editor in an Istanbul television news station. When Turkish president Erdogan’s crackdown on free speech and the press commences, Hasret is pressured to broadcast pro-government propaganda. When it becomes too much, she retreats into her apartment, where the growing tyranny outside and visible destruction of her historic neighborhood (which is officially due for rebuilding) are causing her to panic. Hasret feels the walls burning with heat, is plagued by auditory hallucinations, and begins obsessing over the 20-year-old death of her artist parents in a car crash, drawing parallels between their fate and the recent rise of oppression and censorship under Erdogan’s tightening grip. Filmmaker Ceylan Özgün Özçelik’s feature debut has a fine premise, but the central conceit is difficult to sustain for a full movie without some redundancy and a thinning out of the main themes. Still, Özçelik is a director to watch. A strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)
Inflame
FilmRise, 94 min., in Turkish w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95 Volume 33, Issue 5
Inflame
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