Film Review: Kurban Bayrami (short film) (2008)

SYNOPSIS:

Coming back to the ‘brave’, one can imagine the main problem with the inexistence of a serious Turkish horror film can be traced back to the freedom of speech, influence of Islam and Turkish society codes. “The attraction of horror can be understood in essentially three ways: (1) as the counter phobia or the satisfaction of overcoming objects of fear; (2) as ‘the return of the repressed’ or the compulsive projection of objects of sublimated desire; and (3) as part of a more complicated rite if passage from onanism to reproductive sexuality.” Kurban Bayrami was the platform for me to create and play around these very objects, fears and satisfactions.

REVIEW:

Produced in Turkey (and banned by YouTube and Google in Turkey), it can only mean another extreme short by film maker Can Evrenol. The 5 minute short is titled “Kurban Bayrami” of which the video describes as: “a worldwide Islamic festival that sacrifices blindfolded sheep to give to the poor as food”. Can Evrenol had mentioned that in the making of this film it was directed at the political chaos in Republic of Turkey. So while I review this as a first time viewer, it also means that their is some undercurrent of culture that I probably don’t immediately connect to.

The film by most standards presents quite nicely. It only adds a sense of extreme cinematic realism in the scene where a young girl is beheaded in the interest of (I assume) being eaten. The short was also missing subtitles, so it’s a given that some things may have been missed.

The film follows a small family who are enjoying a family Thanksgiving dinner together. Soon after a unannounced man enters the house and beats the father down by breaking his leg. He proceeds to throw a lambs head on the table and then behead the young girl. No reason or motivation is revealed.

The short is mentioned as being a result of Can Evrenol’s fascination with Turkish cinema which features – action, gore, sadism and eroticism. Kurban Bayrami takes on the issues of the repressed, the freedom of speech, and the influence of Islam . It is further defined as “the idea of this reasonless, harsh and grim fate being delivered to a regular family”. This statement while vague attempts to say something about horror and culture with a bold short visual statement. It’s extreme nature is not prolonged, but is still apparent and felt in a disturbing way.

You can view his short films at http://www.canevrenol.com/

Kurban Bayrami (short film) (2008)