Synopsis
“Not Knowing” (Bilmemek, an English title) is a 2019 Turkish drama film directed by Leyla Yılmaz who narrates a family story intertwined with social life and presence on the self. The film follows a teenage boy Umut, a water polo player, in his final year of secondary education, construction worker’s son whose name means “hope”. Rumors begin to swirl around him, mainly of his alleged normative sexuality. As the rumors escalate, Umut’s mother and father, Selma and Sinan, both struggling with their marital woes, have to deal with their own intolerance as well as with the social context of the events in question. It is observed how each screen character tries to handle each of these challenges until the last moment, and by the end of the film, it is revealed that Umut has disappeared, after which all family members have to rethink and transform their self-declarations towards others and each other.
Awards & Wins
With regard to recognition, the film “Not Knowing” has received positive reviews for how it depicted Turkey’s modern-day problems. The sources mentioned do not go into any detail on specific awards, but do point out the contribution the film has made to Turkish cinema.
Cast & Crew of not knowing
- Director: Leyla Yılmaz
- Writer: Leyla Yılmaz
- Producer: Leyla Yılmaz
- Cast: – Senan Kara in the role of Selma – Yurdaer Okur in the role of Sinan – Emir Özden in the role of Umut – Levent Üzümcü in the role of Coach – Ece Dizdar in the role of Teacher – Gizem Erdem in the role of Nurse – Murat Kılıç in the role of Principal – Mert Asutay in the role of Teammate – Selen Uçer in the role of Neighbor – Bora Akkaş in the role of Friend
Fundamental Information about the Movie
According to IMDb, Not Knowing gets rated with 6.5 out of ten stars as endorsement from more than one thousand users almost and went up some time after its initial appearance at the screen.
Essential Perspectives
The older generation puts a lot of effort into attempting to integrate into European society so that their children do not have to endure the prejudices that they encounter themselves facing and the film Not Knowing helps to showcase such individuals and families over such a dire situation. Leyla Yilmaz’s way of directing gives a more convincing illustration on how individual’s development makes them go through focal internal fights while being more researched to provide an even better image towards emergence and more heightened family disagreements; the film is well-developed as regards time as characters are developed well and interactions put in depth as subtle yet conflict intrusive characteristics that the film has progressed over identifying—sensitivity to struggle within each character’s arc is also well captured, for example, the Amerikan children theater actors have performed wisely especially Emir Ozden in the role of oubl where the emotional weight of numerous private conflicts within a person is showcased alike.
Cultural Significance
In the context of Turkish society today, the film “Not Knowing” examines the issues of discrimination faced by LGBTQ individuals as well as the social context of families. In addition, the film presents a very strong picture of what it is like to come to terms with oneself and the bravery to oppose the normatives of society. In this way, the film “Not Knowing” also portrays and promotes the struggle for rights and justice, as well as the relevant issues, not only to the Turkish audience but to the world around them.
To get a more relatable feeling about the movie, you can check out the official trailer of the movie down below: