Spaces of Love and Death in Halit Refig Movies |
Kirik Hayatlar [Broken Lives] (1965)
Thresholds are border elements that we jump over to pass from one place to another. They separate inside from the outside or the rural from the urban. They are not always essentially physical elements; we also use them to describe abstract concepts. Each threshold we approach is a sign of change; each threshold we pass changes the time, space, level... something in our lives.
‘Broken Lives’ is adapted from the novel of Halit Ziya Usakligil. The original story of the 1900s is carried to the 1960s and inevitably the symbol of the ‘westernization’ and/or ‘modernization’ threshold is a new and modernist house.
The married couple moves to their new and modern house. This also represents the threshold of a change of social status for them. However, this modern way of life comes with its own definitions of social relationships that are not always easy to adapt. But again, the thresholds are rich in meaning; when we pass over a threshold for the second time, it can lead us to a completely different space.