Night of Silence

In this small-scale Turkish wedding-night drama, the groom is a weather-beaten ex-con in late middle-age; the bride is just 14. Their union, arranged by feuding clans, is nothing unusual in this remote corner of eastern Turkey. The easy route for writer-director Reis Çelik would be to decry the patriarchal traditions which make such iniquities possible, but he prefers to study the experiences of the individuals involved. Custom decrees that they must display the soiled bridal sheet on the morning after their nuptials, but getting to that point is by no means a given when the young bride is trembling in fear and her husband is sensitive enough not to force the issue. Much of this unfolds as low-key chamber drama, made engrossing by believable performances and direction which registers every changing mood. Humane empathy carries the story along, and occasional spectacular moments when the film steps out of the bedroom raise the hope that Çelik gets the chance to work on a wider scale soon.