A filmmaker daughter, working at the height of her creativity, teams up with her elderly father in Aslı Özge’s humorous and touching but also poignant and in many ways surprising fiction documentary Faruk. The first surprise is the father’s age: when he truthfully reveals it in the film, the viewer would never have guessed it.
Özge’s film is about ageing: how should we approach ageing, both of people and of their homes? Faruk is a widow who lives alone in Istanbul that fears predicted earthquakes. Now the government’s “Urban Transformation Programme” also threatens to demolish his neighbourhood.
Another surprise is the way the film combines documentary and fictional material. From the beginning, Aslı Özge and the crew break the so-called fourth wall and reveal that they are making a film, including fictional scenes. What is “true” and what is fiction?
The third surprise is the personality of the title character. Despite an uncertain future, Faruk enjoys his days to the full; he is not afraid of fitness tests, fights for his apartment, even dreams of a naked woman. The multi-layered project between a kindly old man who has remained youthful and the daughter who is struggling to complete her film is also a fascinating insight into the social and cultural pressures for change in contemporary Turkish society.
Timo Malmi