Political thriller
“In the blind spot”: tension until it no longer works
Zafer (Ahmet Varli) with his daughter Melek (Cagla Yurga). photo
© missingFilms/dpa
In her new, award-winning film, the Turkish-German director Ayşe Polat develops a thoughtful examination of Turkey’s recent history and present.
Crime thriller, historical drama, horror film and political thriller: the feature film “In the Dead Angle” is everything in one. The Turkish-German director Ayşe Polat (“En Garde”) juggles various narrative levels and styles with virtuosity. The story revolves around the difficulties of a crew living in the northeast of the Türkiye wants to make a documentary.
A cleverly nested odyssey between yesterday and today develops into a thoughtful examination of Turkey’s recent history and present. The possibilities and limits of perception itself are also considered. Is something true just because we think we see it? This question creates enormous uncertainty and creates great tension.
Ayşe Polat uses horror cinema patterns to reflect irrational and real hauntings. A lot of focus is given to the life of the Kurds in Turkey. With which the film shows individual fates. This leads to serious reflection on what opportunities humanity has when inhumanity is the order of the day.
High entertainment factor
The film, which is divided into three acts, is carried by an excellent team of actors. This is led by Katja Bürkle as a documentary filmmaker. Tudan Ürper impresses as a woman whose son disappeared about a quarter of a century ago, kidnapped by the secret service according to the mother. A little girl named Melek (Çağla Yurga) plays a special role. It turns out that social injustices are fatally passed on from generation to generation.
Cameraman Patrick Orth has created a documentary-like imagery that cleverly reinforces the pull of the often mysterious events. Many a tricky puzzle will keep the audience engaged. The entertainment factor is therefore high. It is reinforced by the clever immersion in a society whose rules can become pitfalls for many people.
An award-worthy political thriller
In September, “In the Dead Angle” won the main prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival. And the political thriller is also successful with film fans in Turkey. As the German distributor Missingfilms recently announced, “Im dead Winkel” is “by far the most successful German production at the film festivals in Turkey” with 14 awards. This year, for example, the production won awards at the International Istanbul Film Festival and the Ankara Film Festival.
In the blind spot, Germany 2023, 118 min., FSK ages 16 and up, by Ayşe Polat, with Katja Bürkle, Tudan Ürper, Çagla Yurga