Hope

Hope focuses on a Kurdish family in a traditional village in the mountains of Turkey, and through them tells the story of the breakdown of a community.

It opens with a bleak winter scene, a path being cleared through deep snow, the sound of crows in the trees. “Winter lasts seven months here,” says the old man with a nod to his wife, “and half the time we fight.” She agrees, laughing. Then in some beautifully lit scenes we see the couple at their daily tasks, cooking, eating, delivering a calf. This traditional way of life established, the woman talks about her scattered family and how she longs for them to return. Her lined face is full of character and it is easy to warm to her and feel her sorrow.

The man talks about the village as it used to be, the poverty, the exile of the Armenians who used to be their friends, the war with the Russians. He laments the decline of the village as the young migrate to the West. He himself has been to Germany, but returned when that dream turned sour. Their one remaining son is preparing to be smuggled into France.

For the women, it is modern improvements which have brought about greater isolation. “Now we have water in the houses women don't see each other.” But attitudes have also changed, some not in the way we might expect. Women used to travel about freely, we are told, now they can't go alone to the market, or even to visit the doctor, because it is seen as shameful.

The film contains some beautiful photography, and its subjects are presented with dignity and humour. It is a pity that it soon becomes rambling as it takes us through the seasons in what begins to feel like a very long 49 minutes. The message that there is no future here is repeated far too often (ironically as this festival audience voted with its feet, many leaving before the end of the film). The family look through their old black and white photographs. Stills are shown of life in modern Turkey, many of them irrelevant, looking as if they came from the tourist board. One is left with the impression that there was a wealth of material here, and the film-makers didn't want to leave anything out. It's rather sad to see a film which contains so much of quality, so badly shaped. Cut to two thirds of its length, this could have been a much more impressive film.