by Aslı Tunç
Every city has its own one-of-a-kind scent. Smell is a powerful memory trigger, transporting us back to specific moments and activities from our time spent in a city. The salty sea air, the smell of grilled fish from the city’s street vendors, and the smoke from the ferries chugging over the Bosphorus all contribute to Istanbul’s distinctive aroma. Not just the sights and sounds, but the fragrances of Istanbul are what natives miss most when they leave. If you lose this, you won’t only lose your sense of who you are; you won’t even feel like you belong anywhere.
The movie, Suddenly (Aniden) opens with that cold hard truth Reyhan faces for the first time at the doctor’s office. In other words, she could no longer smell anything. As she steps onto the streets of Istanbul, Reyhan’s search begins for finding not just the familiar things from her past but also her freedom, her true self, and her female desire.
Reyhan is back from Hamburg with her husband Tevfik for a short time. The city, the people, the family she left behind 30 years ago are not the same anymore. She can’t even rely on her own body, as seen by the limp in her leg. By testing her limits, she learns to enjoy the thrill of tango. She tries to compensate for her diminished perception by sensually stroking her dance partner. Paradoxically, yet, being close to a blind instructor can help one feel more complete. In the film’s most moving sequence, the camera slowly pans to Reyhan’s face as the blind instructor’s hands find and touch her lovingly. She strives to run away from the roles of wife, sister, and daughter. Reyhan only wants to blend into the shadows of Istanbul as a flâneuse, a free spirit aimlessly meandering from one place to the next. She confronts her mother in a stunning setting, with white sheets drying on the roof. She’s resolved to break free of her chains. She is breaking her umbilical cord to her mother’s womb, represented by the white sheets, so that she can make a “sudden” and radical change in her life.
You need to have patience to decode the multi-layered story, and to follow the traces of the visual metaphors. After doing so, you will begin to deeply cherish the complexity of the script, the richness of art direction, the beauty of subtle visual nuances hidden here and there in the frame, and the minimalist acting. Suddenly is not an easy film to grasp.
This Turkish/German/Serbian co-production has been directed by Melisa Önel and co-scripted by Feride Çiçekoğlu and had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 26, 2022. Defne Kayalar’s Reyhan, the film’s main character, commands attention with her intensely expressive face. As the credits roll, the powerful cinematography, seamless script, and conspicuous sound effects leave the audience with deep emotional sensation and an urge to move forward in life.
