Biyograficim
Hayat

Life (Hayat)

Movie · 2023 · 9 people

Zeki Demirkubuz wrote and directed Hayat (Life), a 2023 drama. A Turkey-Bulgaria co-production, it runs about 193 minutes, with Miray Daner and Burak Dakak sharing the leads. With it Demirkubuz returned to cinemas seven years after Kor. It was chosen as Turkey's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards but was not nominated.

The story circles around Hicran, a young woman who refuses the life imposed on her. Engaged against her will by her father, she finds her way out by running from home. Her fiancé Rıza assumes she never wanted to marry him and at first pays no attention. As time passes, being unwanted by Hicran begins to wound his pride, and he decides to confront her. He goes to Istanbul to find the fiancée he has seen only once. One review reads the film as the story of a woman pushed by social pressure and family wishes toward a man she does not want, and counts it as kin to Kader and Masumiyet.

Cem Davran, Umut Kurt, Melis Birkan, Doğu Demirkol, Osman Alkaş and Kayhan Açıkgöz are also in the cast. Kürşat Üresin and Cevahir Şahin handled the cinematography. It premiered at Filmekimi on 20 October 2023 and opened in Turkish cinemas on 15 December 2023.

DirectorZeki Demirkubuz
Life (Hayat) Life (Hayat)

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Cast

Burak Dakak Burak Dakak Actor · 28 years old Cem Davran Cem Davran Actor · 62 years old Doğu Demirkol Doğu Demirkol Comedian · 38 years old Melis Birkan Melis Birkan Actor · 42 years old Miray Daner Miray Daner Actor · 27 years old Umut Kurt Umut Kurt Actor · 45 years old Osman Alkaş Osman Alkaş Actor · 70 years old Caner Cindoruk Caner Cindoruk Actor · 46 years old Sibel Can Sibel Can Actor · 56 years old

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Through different eyes

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

Seven years after Kor, Zeki Demirkubuz returns to cinemas with a film of about 193 minutes whose ambition shows in its length alone. The frame of the story is spare: engaged against her will by her father, Hicran runs away from home, and Rıza, his pride wounded, goes to Istanbul to find the fiancée he has seen only once. That simple spine leaves the dramatic weight less on events than on the two characters' choices and their moral burden, and Miray Daner and Burak Dakak have to carry it over this length. That is why one review's reading of the film as kin to Kader and Masumiyet makes sense. Being chosen as Turkey's Oscar submission shows how seriously it was taken, but a running time beyond three hours risks weighing down the rhythm, especially in the middle, and makes it an experience that demands patience.

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

Let me be blunt: about 193 minutes is a serious test for anyone who wants pace. Don't expect chases or big set pieces in Hayat; the tension comes from Rıza, his pride wounded, heading to Istanbul to find Hicran. The idea of that confrontation is intriguing, but getting there takes a long time. If slow dramas test your patience, think twice.

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

Hayat returns to an old but unfinished question in Turkish society: who decides a woman's life. Hicran's flight from an engagement forced by her father makes visible the wall that family wishes and social pressure build in front of the individual. Rıza's reaction, fed less by love than by wounded pride, holds up a mirror to a mindset that defines manhood through honour. That social vein is why one review counts the film as kin to Kader and Masumiyet. The road to Istanbul, too, recalls a familiar thread in which the big city is both a place of escape and a place to get lost.

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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