Emin Alper’s Trenchant Political Allegory
The title of Turkish writer-director Emin Alper’s Salvation (Kurtuluş) carries a bitter sting, pointing up how a perceived enemy threat can be manipulated to seed survivalist panic that escalates into genocide. Salvation for one side means elimination of the other, and establishing which is the righteous side can be entirely subjective, especially when the aggrieved become the aggressors. Those blurred boundaries are the subject of Alper’s powerful slow-burn drama. The movie is an occasionally confusing but mostly gripping account of inter-clan conflict fueled by the nightmares of an ordinary man, who overnight becomes a mystic religious leader. But it’s also a timely and chilling allegory for strongmen rulers across the globe whose nationalist rhetoric fuels “us or them” hostility. Patient attention is required to sort out the characters and geography but once the fuse is fully lit and the material elevated by the introduction of dreams and superstitions, Salvation burns. Salvation The Bottom Line A provocative allegorical powder keg. Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Competition)Cast: Caner Ci̇ndoruk, Berkay Ateş, Feyyaz Duman, Naz Göktan, Özlem Taş, Eren …
