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Love, Spells and All That (Aşk, Büyü vs.)

Love, Spells and All That (Aşk, Büyü vs.)

Movie · 2019 · 3 people

Love, Spells and All That (Aşk, Büyü vs.) is a 2019 Turkish drama written and directed by Ümit Ünal, with a romantic streak, running about 96 minutes. It premiered at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, where it earned Selen Uçer the Best Actress award and took the Behlül Dal Jury Special Prize. It later won Best Film at the 54th Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD) Awards and the Golden Tulip for Best Film in the Istanbul Film Festival's National Competition. In 2021 TLA Releasing picked it up for international distribution.

The story is about two women whose paths cross again after many years. Reyhan (Selen Uçer) and Eren (Ece Dizdar) fell in love as teenagers in a small island town and were separated when Eren left for university in Paris. Twenty years pass, and Eren comes back hoping to rekindle the relationship. Reyhan hesitates, because she once had a love spell cast so that Eren would love her forever. The film leaves open whether the reunion owes more to the spell or to real feeling.

Ünal had previously directed Sofra Sırları. One critic called the film “a magical love under lock and key” and described the director as one of Turkish cinema’s most distinctive filmmakers.

DirectorÜmit Ünal

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Cast

Selen Uçer Selen Uçer Actor · 43 years old Reyhan Ece Dizdar Ece Dizdar Actor · 47 years old Eren Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu Actor · 70 years old

Also in the cast: Uygar Özçelik

More from this director

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Ümit Ünal ties a seemingly simple reunion story to a clever question: is the feeling revived after twenty years real, or the work of a spell? The film carries that ambiguity to the end without trying to resolve it, and the script's real strength lies in that restraint. The island town works as a natural stage where past and present meet in one place. Selen Uçer's Golden Orange award is no surprise; she plays indecision with fine calibration, and Ece Dizdar gives her a solid counterpart. Still, the storytelling is at times too controlled, staying detached even where emotion ought to spill over, and the middle can feel as if it is marking time. The Best Film wins at SİYAD and the Golden Tulip reward its nerve.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Love, Spells and All That stands out as a Turkish film that puts a love between two women at its center and tells it without sensationalism. Eren leaving for university in Paris while Reyhan stays in the island town marks not just a separation but the diverging paths of those who leave and those who stay. Between Eren's hope on her return twenty years later and Reyhan's hesitation, one can read the quiet that comes with life in a small place. The love-spell motif turns traditional folk belief into a romantic question. The film watches women confront their own desires without judging them, an attitude not often found in Turkish cinema.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Let me be straight: this film doesn't match my idea of pace. Almost everything happens in the two women's conversations, glances and hesitation, so if you want movement it may feel long. Still, the spell is a good hook, keeping you asking 'is it real or not?' right to the end. Watch it on a calm evening in a patient mood and it pays off.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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