Review of Nehir Tuna’s film Yurt, a Turkish film blending politics, religion and crypto-gay male friendship.
A Turkish drama about youth confronted with religion and the rise of Islamism in the 1990s
Yurt, Nehir Tuna’s very beautiful first feature film, plunges us into 1990s Turkey. At the time, Turkey was experiencing a period of deep tension between two visions of the country: the secular legacy founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which advocated a modern, Western state separate from religion, and the gradual rise of Islamist movements, which sought to restore religion to a central place in public life and education. Ahmet (Doga Karakas), from a wealthy family, is placed by his father in a yurt, a religious boarding school where boys live. They are sent there to “become good men” and absorb a certain ideology.
An intense male friendship in a Turkish religious boarding school
Intense and somewhat rebellious, and not very happy to be there, Ahmet is not looked upon favourably by the supervisors. However, he quickly befriends Hakan (Can Bartu Aslan), a solitary boy from a poor background who becomes fiercely loyal to him. Hakan takes Ahmet under his wing, and the two quickly become inseparable. As Ahmet discovers his first desires in a complicated context and develops a crush on a female classmate, his fantasy world becomes increasingly troubled by Hakan, who will become one of the most important people in his life…
Captivating aesthetics and crypto-gay
It is impossible not to mention the film’s absolutely sublime form, with its very beautiful black and white perfectly materialising Ahmet’s feeling of confinement, as well as his moments of joy, fears and dreams. Yurt adopts a rather slow, contemplative pace, allowing us to feel the oppressive daily life of the boarding school, with its indoctrination and strict rules. At one point, one might fear that the film is going a little in circles, but it surprises us in its second half, taking on an unexpected scope and emotional force.
Beyond its reflection on Turkey and its political dimension, the film is deeply moving in its tale of friendship tinged with feelings between Ahmet and Hakan, two opposite boys who eventually can no longer do without one another. Director Nehir Tuna offers a small slew of crypto-gay shots before Ahmet’s feelings towards his handsome friend become clearer. While the whole world disappoints him, Ahmet finds in Hakan the only person who is always there for him, who literally brings colour into his life.
Black and white is then succeeded by the colour of what one senses will be a lost paradise in the making. Yurt then gives us a little slap with its melancholy, internalised pain and the vibrant loss of innocence of two young men caught up in a system.
Film produced in 2023 and available on VOD
Other gay films in boarding schools
–Les amitiés particulières
–Handsome Devil
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