Name: Cici
Director: Berkun Oya
Released: 2022-10-27T12:30:00

Cici (2022) is a Turkish drama film about a family who gets together at their childhood home several years after leaving it following someone’s death. The film is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Haava lives with a very dominating husband Fekir, and their three children, Saliha, Kadir and Yusuf. Fekir has all of them working around the house and their farm and always makes sure they follow his rules.

Fekir was also no stranger to handing out punishments whenever his children misbehaved. Fekir suddenly becomes gravely ill and eventually dies, with Haava and the children moving away.

Years later, the family return to the house and revisit memories and relationships before they come across a massive secret that rocks them to their core.

Performances

The performances of the cast are quite emotionally charged and a lot of the acting is done simply through the expressions on their faces rather than the words spoken.

Nur Sürer is brilliant as the ageing mother who is gradually losing her faculties. Her depiction of an elderly person on their last legs is filled with authenticity and pain.

The rest of the cast comes across as decent due to the weak narrative. They all exhibit the right amount of grief but nothing is truly memorable about it.

Positives

The cinematography is amazing. The colour palette, the framing of shots, the panning and the different angles make the film aesthetically impressive.

The same goes for the sound design. The Turkish folk music and the noises of the farm in the background as the camera focus on a particular character, all contribute to the intensity of the film.

Negatives

The story moves way too slowly and doesn’t feel very engaging. Many lingering shots look great but do not do much for the narrative.

The switching back and forth between past and present is also quite abrupt and not made clear on several occasions until much later. The transitions are seamless and yet it doesn’t make things any less scrambled.

Some things aren’t explained thoroughly, such as Saliha and Cemil’s relationship which feels quite vague. Even Yusuf’s troubles with his wife are given a short glimpse and line but nothing beyond that.

Verdict

Cici (2022) is a long, drawn-out drama film that deserves credit for the people working behind the scenes but is still plagued by many issues, making it quite a boring affair.

The narrative could have performed better if there was more context given or if the film was trimmed a bit, but as it stands, it is just a good-looking film which is a slog to watch.