Return (Dönüş) (translated)

Dönüş (Return) is a 1972 Turkish drama and the directorial debut of Türkan Şoray, who also stars in the leading role. Written by Safa Önal, the film co-stars Kadir İnanır and Bilâl İnci. It belongs to a wave of early-1970s Turkish films centered on 'Almancılar' — Turkish migrant workers in Germany. İbrahim (Kadir İnanır), who left for Germany to work, grows increasingly estranged from his own society; meanwhile he has married a German woman and has a child with her. Back in his village, his abandoned wife Gülcan (Türkan Şoray) lives alone and has become the subject of gossip. Seeing it as his duty to cleanse his honor, İbrahim returns to the village, setting off a painful confrontation between the emigrant husband and the wife he left behind. The film portrays the destructive toll of labor migration on family bonds and the crushing weight of honor codes in rural Turkey.