l_rawjalaurence Review of A Small September Affair

A Small September Affair (2014)

Sporadically Interesting Variation on the Beauty and the Beast Story

[6/10 · 15 July 2014]

Basically a variation on the Beauty and the Beast story, Kerem Deren's film focuses on the experiences of young İstanbullu Eylül (Farah Zeynep Abdullah), who has a near-fatal accident resulting in the loss of her short-term memory. To help recover it, her friend Berrak (Ceren Moray) takes her back to the island of Bozcaada, where she went for a location-trip, and encountered Tekin (or Tek) (Engin Akürek), an artist with acute agoraphobia. He has forsaken the sophisticated world of İstanbul for an edenic existence in a seaside home, with no one but match-making child Gülşen (Serra Keskin) for company. Eylül finds his existence rather rustic but strangely attractive, a welcome alternative to the hurlyburly of contemporary İstanbul The film juxtaposes Eylül's currently confused state of mind with an analysis of what happened to her in the past; she had a love-affair with Tekin, which became passionate on both sides. Despite the ordinariness of his life, she fell for him; but left him in the belief that she had to return to her metropolitan İstanbul life. Her accident - and subsequent memory-loss - was caused by reading something in the paper about Tekin's fate. The film creates an idyllic world on Bozcaada full of sunshine, quaint buildings and unpopulated cafés; the place where any harassed city-dweller might like to escape to. It is Eylül's misfortune that she does not understand the advantages of this life, or Tekin's true feelings for her. There are a few clichéd moments, especially involving the two lovers on the beach; and Abdullah is at times extremely unconvincing in her role, especially when it comes to communicating her disordered state of mind. Nonetheless BI KÜÇÜK EYLÜL MESELESİ is entertaining to watch.