Singing Women

The latest film by leading Turkish director Reha Erdem develops the aesthetics of his previous screen achievements. The plot centres this time on an isolated family who, despite a mass evacuation order, have decided to remain in their home on an island which is soon to be struck by a destructive earthquake. The apocalyptic nature of the threat is heightened by a mysterious illness affecting both the animals in the vicinity, which fall dead to the ground, and the remaining inhabitants of the island, whose lives have been overturned by these strange events. The women start to experience an unprecedented sense of affinity with their natural surroundings and with destiny itself, while the men are pushed to the brink of insanity. The director's extremely imaginative vision gives rise to a highly symbolic story which presents an original portrayal of a dysfunctional society, here trying to cope in an unsettled world buffeted by the elements. This beguiling film, in its very essence a mesmeric and profound experience, may also be seen as an allegory of contemporary society. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)