Life (2023) User Reviews

Recommended by Ismail

[ahmet1004 · 10/10 · 15 December 2023]

I've watched this movie after the recommandation of Ismail Kiliçaslan and let me tell you something this is the best Turkish movie I've ever seen. Its realism, realistic characters,realistic story containing all humanistic and ethical values are already milestones for not only for the Turkish cinema but also for the world. Zeki Demirkubuz's best film ever, even better than "Masumiyet".

As for the ups, the story is interesting, the scenes are well-shot, the acting is splendid, and the dose of bleakness is just right. Very enchanting scenario and poetic expression. Demirkubuz has a specific style. Imagine a film, that makes you feel the hardness of the pavement you hit your head onto, once again.

Fascinating

[canayca · 10/10 · 5 January 2024]

"Life" is a dramatic masterpiece that will leave you spellbound. Directed by Zeki Demirkubuz, the movie is a gripping tale of love, loss, and redemption. The movie's cinematography is breathtaking, and the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. The performances by the cast are outstanding, with Osman Alkas and Kayhan Açikgöz delivering powerful and emotional performances. The movie's plot is intriguing and well-paced, keeping the audience engaged throughout. The movie's themes of love, loss, and redemption are deeply moving and thought-provoking. Overall, "Life" is a must-watch for anyone who loves dramatic movies that are visually stunning and emotionally powerful.

One of the most compelling female characters in cinema

[insightflow-20603 · 10/10 · 18 March 2024]

A multilayered film I can't recommend enough. During a talk after the screening, the director was cautious not to give any answers, although he made a surprisingly firm statement: "If free will doesn't exist, life has no meaning." This might have reasserted the independence of the main heroine, but it immediately related to a question whether the meeting and shared dream with the hero was destined. The director made the point that we make our choices unconsciously - which surely doesn't contradict a determinist idea. He was perhaps insisting on social choice. Upon a question about his attitude towards religion which features strongly in the film, he said he's "looking at it from a distance". This isn't author's cinema, but Zeki Demirkubuz has evoked one of the most powerfully beautiful female characters in cinema, subtly and cathartically, with the prolonged 193 minutes needed for us to experience the oppression and anguish. She is otherworldly, a mystery not by choice but due to patriarchy failing to understand her and aiming to destroy her, until she finds her saviour and realises that freedom is after all an understood necessity; the necessity of love.

Male characters range from despicable to confabulating to hilarious, depicted with psychological intricacy. There's the absent (in psychological terms) mother whom the heroine despises for her weakness, while still being fond of her abusive father... nothing is black and white and the director said he doesn't see a silver lining.