Umay and her son, Cem.

"When we leave" is a movie about the thematic of the family and its honor. Moreover, it explores the links between a same members family. Indeed, the characters of the movie all have something that makes them kind of dramatic because of a painful dilemma. At the beginning, the film is set in Turkey, when Umay (the main character) has to leave with her son Cem to run away Kemal, her violent husband who gets worse and worse as time passes. She finally chose to get back to her native country, Germany, where her family lives.

***

At first, the family of the woman seemed to be happy to see her, but when Kader (Umay's dad) learned what she has done, he ordered his daughter to go back in Istanbul where she has left her husband Kemal. There begins a long disagrement between the daughter and her dad. Her mother, Halyme, was completely powerless just as the woman's young sister, Rana. Finally, Umay's brother, Acar, received the order by his dad to do something terrible to clear the family's honour....

Left to right: Kader, Kemal, Umay, Cem.


The film had a plot which was just breathtaking. At every single moment, the audience was sitting on the edge of it sit, waiting for the following and thinking "whoah, then what's going to happen?". The story of Umay and her son Cem is captivating and so credible. The asset of this movie is without doubt the plot: there isn't a lot of movies which talks about honour crimes and that is a great shame because they are still widespread internationally. Also, the music that they used for the scene were, in fact, really adapted to the turkish culture and that's a bonus.

***

However, there was some scenes which were slow. And there was some characters that could have been a little bit more developped in their passed, or their mental. The final scene is, for me, too short and could have been more exploited because she leaves us with a lot of questions in our minds. Why? How? Then?


Halyme, Umay's mother, at the left and Umay at the center.

First of all, let's talk about the main character, Umay. It seems to me that she is a little bit lost and disappointed by the reaction of her family when she comes back, and this is understandable: will you not be sad if your whole family turned its back to you? The actress, Sibek Kekili, is mostly known for her role in the famous serie Game of Thrones, in wich she played Shae, a whore. I personnaly adored the father, Kader. Indeed, the actor played so well the indecision and the fact that, even if he had made a terrible decision, he loves his daughter that Kader became my second favorite character in the film, after Umay. I was pleased to see that he wasn't showed as a monster, but as a father who has the future of his family in his hands. I think that a lot of viewers hated this character because of his choices and actions. The others characters like Kemal, Rana, Cem, Halyme, Mehmet, Stipe, Gül are also interesting, but not as much as Umay and her dad who have got, for me, further psychology.

***

I would be tempted to say that to finish this review: "When we leave" is a flm that must be seen by every single person on the earth. It's a wonderful story, with great characters and good actors. Listen to me. You need to see this movie. You want to watch it. DO IT. Just. Do it. You will not regret it, My rating for this film is 4/5, because even if I love this movie, there are some things that makes it doesn't deserve a 5.