17 July 2011
Jeff Sawtell / Morning Star

The third part of Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu's reverse-order trilogy, Honey depicts his partly autobiographical hero Yusuf (Bora Altas) as a thoughtful only child growing up in a remote part of rural Turkey.

His father Yakup (Erdal Besikcioglu) works far in the depths of the forest as a honey-gatherer and for the young boy the surrounding forest becomes a place of mystery and adventure when he accompanies his father in his work. The strong bond that Yusuf has with his father cannot protect him from becoming an outsider during his first year of school.

His stutter shames him in front of his classmates during oral reading assignments and his anxieties escalate when his father has to travel to a faraway forest on a risky mission.

His father gone, Yusuf slips into silence, to the distress of his young mother Zehra (Tulin Ozen).

Time passes and his father does not return and Yusuf sees his mother grow daily sadder.

Eventually he summons all his courage and goes in search of his missing parent.

A journey into the unknown, visually striking and graceful, the film brings to the screen a unique world that constantly surprises the resilient Yusuf and audience alike. Dialogue is kept to minimum and there is no music, while the photography is controlled and self-consciously aesthetic. Kaplanouglu doesn't shrink from detailing the symptoms and effects of hopeless poverty.

Sad and witty, Honey is a beautiful, memorable film which deservedly won last year's Golden Bear in Berlin.