Last summer, forty-one-year-old lawyer-turned-filmmaker Murat Firatoglu, with no formal film education, prior screenings, or even a short film to his name, made his debut with One of Those Days When Hemme Dies, which premiered in the Orizzonti sidebar at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
There, the film won the Special Jury Prize and later went on to win both the Best Film award and the SİYAD Jury Award at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival.
Set during a hot Turkish summer, One of Those Days When Hemme Dies follows Eyüp (played by the helmer himself), a man in his forties who, after going bankrupt, is forced to leave İzmir and return to his Kurdish-majority hometown of Siverek.
With the help of his friend Ali, he starts working in a field drying tomatoes with villagers under the scorching sun, but as he faces delays in receiving his wage and serious legal consequences if he doesn’t pay off his debts by the next day, Eyüp becomes increasingly frustrated and nervous.
The action of One of Those Days When Hemme Dies unfolds over a single day. While the villagers reluctantly perform their tasks, the old foreman — the titular Hemme — grows anxious about not being able to fulfil deadlines and ends up confronting Eyüp, who keeps demanding his wage. Hemme attempts to cool the situation and shakes him off, but unsuccessfully. In a matter of seconds, Eyüp tries to attack him, but other workers intervene.
From that moment on, Murat focuses on Eyüp’s journey, which begins as soon as he leaves the tomato fields and faces two breakdowns of his motorcycle on the road. His hatred seems to intensify, leading him to consider killing Hemme, whom he blames for his despair and disgrace.
To return to the tomato fields, however, he needs to borrow a new motorcycle. Once in town, he begins to linger, and we start to sense that his feelings and intentions might have shifted.
During the first third, Murat builds a fairly intriguing premise, where roles and conflicts are clear, and the viewer may be interested enough to find out what will happen next.
However, the narrative takes an excessively slow-burn approach, and subtle irony and sparse comedic devices (for instance, a TV unexpectedly playing the intro of the 1970s anime Heidi, Girl of the Alps) are insufficient to keep the audience engaged throughout the cinematic experience.
Moreover, there is a pervasive sense that everything remains ‘hinted’ and on the surface — the only character who experiences any significant development is the lead himself, while others encountered along the way feel little more than extras. A chance encounter with an old classmate and her child suggests something unpredictable might unfold; yet, the two exit as if nothing has occurred.
On a more positive note, the technical credits are smooth. In particular, the three directors of photography, Semih Yildiz, Nedim Dedecan, and Abdurrahman Öncü, beautifully capture the sun-drenched tomato fields and the village, effectively conveying the oppressive warmth of a summer day that can provoke anger and madness.
Overall, Murat’s debut shows promising elements — a solid premise, decent acting performances, and an appealing visual aesthetic. That said, the film’s writing and character development remain fragile and rely too heavily on the well-worn — and overused — plot device of the ‘false alarm.’
In fairness, Murat’s effort is the type of picture that may entice film lovers who prefer subtle fascination over concreteness. It’s certainly one way to interpret this film and Eyüp’s 24-hour odyssey, but it requires a good dose of imagination and intellectual effort.
Greek poet and journalist Konstantinos Kavafis once wrote: “As you set out for Ithaka, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.” If the journey is more important than the final destination, it’s essential to experience these “adventures and discoveries” along the way.
In this respect, One of Those Days When Hemme Dies does very little to shine, despite its careful aesthetic and arthouse-pleasing perspective.
Davide Abbatescianni is an Italian Film Critic and Journalist based in Rome
Follow him on X: @dabbatescianni