Biyograficim
Two Lines (İki Çizgi)

Two Lines (İki Çizgi)

Movie · 2008 · 9 people

Selim Evci wrote and directed İki Çizgi (Two Lines), a Turkish drama from 2008 produced by his own company, Evci Film. It is the first feature by Evci, who came from short films. It had its world premiere on 1 September 2008 in the 23rd Critics' Week at the 65th Venice Film Festival and its Turkish premiere at the 45th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. After playing more than thirty festivals, it opened in Turkey on 27 February 2009.

The story follows a young Istanbul couple, businesswoman Selin and her younger photographer boyfriend Mert. After days that are all alike they set off by car, and the farther they get from the city, the more they unknowingly start toying with their relationship and facing the estrangement between them. Selin is settled, self-assured and a classical-music listener; Mert likes rock and may not be ready for a lasting relationship, his eyes still elsewhere. The age gap becomes the decisive factor. Gülçin Santırcıoğlu and Kaan Keskin share the leads, with Yakup Yavru and Mehmet Bilge Aslan also in the cast.

Filming took place in Istanbul, Geyikli, Bergama, Foça and Ayvalık. One critic judged this journey-based study of a modern relationship to bear the marks of short films, repeating familiar themes by similar routes.

DirectorSelim Evci
Production companyEvci Film
Two Lines (İki Çizgi) Two Lines (İki Çizgi) Two Lines (İki Çizgi)

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Cast

Gülçin Santırcıoğlu Gülçin Santırcıoğlu Actor · 49 years old Selin Kaan Keskin Zeynep Aydin Özgül Koşar Mehmet Aslan Perihan Kurtoğlu Yakup Yavru Murat Şeker Erdem Sakalıbüyük

More from this director

Through different eyes

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

Selim Evci's first feature carries both the advantage and the limits of coming from the short-film tradition. The road-movie structure lets us follow a couple who break out of identical days onto the road within a pared-down frame, and the wish to build tension through distance and silence rather than dialogue is well placed. But the markers that define the characters, the settled woman who listens to classical music and the restless young man who loves rock, are set down a little too plainly, which pushes the relationship towards a template. Alienation is familiar ground for this kind of cinema, and the film struggles to plough it from a new direction. It merits interest as a compact, restrained exercise, not as a ground-breaking debut.

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

What is most interesting about Two Lines is that it puts a couple in which the woman is the older partner at the centre of the relationship. In this equation, usually reversed in Turkish cinema, a confident woman who has secured her place in working life faces a young man not yet ready for a long commitment. The film looks at how fragile urban relationships are when they are built on careers, independence and expectations in the Istanbul of the 2000s. The journey away from the city can also be read as a way of testing the alienation of city life in another setting.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This is not one to sit down and watch with the family. It is about a couple drifting apart, the age gap between them and their alienation; the pace is calm and not much happens. It holds nothing for children. On the other hand, it could be a good conversation starter for adult couples who want to watch together and then talk about relationships.

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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