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Envy (Kıskanmak)

Envy (Kıskanmak) (translated)

Movie · 2009 · 9 people

Zeki Demirkubuz wrote and directed Kıskanmak ("Envy"), a Turkish drama from 2009. Centered on jealousy, which the director sees as one of the most dangerous states of human nature, it is adapted from the novel of the same name by Nahid Sırrı Örik. It marks a change of direction in Demirkubuz's work: apart from Yazgı, a free adaptation of Albert Camus's The Stranger, it is his first literary adaptation and his first period film, with an unusually well-known cast for him.

The story is set in the gloomy Zonguldak of the 1930s. Halit and his beautiful wife Mükerrem move to the town for his work, and their marriage is shaken the moment they enter society, as an unspoken closeness grows between Mükerrem and the son of one of the wealthiest families. Her sister-in-law Seniha, envious of her beauty, steers her toward tragedy. Nergis Öztürk, Berrak Tüzünataç and Serhat Tutumluer share the leads, with Hatice Aslan, Nihal Koldaş and Selen Uçer. Öztürk won Best Actress at the Adana Golden Koza Film Festival for playing Seniha.

Filming took place in Safranbolu. The film premiered at the Antalya Film Festival, opened nationwide on November 6, 2009 and was shown at festivals in Adana and Istanbul.

DirectorZeki Demirkubuz

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Cast

Berrak Tüzünataç Berrak Tüzünataç Actor · 42 years old Mükerrem Hatice Aslan Hatice Aslan Actor · 64 years old Feriha Nergis Öztürk Nergis Öztürk Film actor · 46 years old Seniha Nihal Koldaş Nihal Koldaş Actor · 70 years old Selen Uçer Selen Uçer Actor · 43 years old Serhat Tutumluer Serhat Tutumluer Actor · 54 years old Halit Hasibe Eren Hasibe Eren Actor · 51 years old Ruyidil Kalfa Serdar Orçin Serdar Orçin Actor · 50 years old Prosecutor Birsen Dürülü Birsen Dürülü Actor · 57 years old Memduha

Titles sharing this cast

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Through different eyes

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

Kıskanmak is a threshold for Zeki Demirkubuz: his first period film, his first literary adaptation if you set Yazgı aside, and an unusually well-known cast. Even on new ground he keeps the cool, patient gaze of his cinema, building jealousy not as an explosion but as a slow poison. Nergis Öztürk's Seniha is the film's load-bearing column, and her Adana award does the performance justice. Shooting in Safranbolu renders the gloom of the 1930s with a convincing texture. On the other hand, as one critic noted, the film does not quite reach the intensity of Kader; the period atmosphere sometimes gets in front of the characters' inner lives. Still, it is a mature piece, kept tight at 96 minutes.

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

The film is set in 1930s Zonguldak, in the closed social world of a provincial town during the early years of the Republic. A couple who move there for work are shaken the moment they enter local society, which shows well the power of small circles that eye newcomers with suspicion. Mükerrem's beauty stops being a personal trait and becomes a problem; a woman's visibility turns into a target for gossip and envy. The unspoken closeness that begins with the son of a wealthy family also points to how class difference shapes relationships. Coming from Nahid Sırrı Örik's novel, this view lets us see the provincial elite of the period from the inside rather than the outside.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Simply seeing a novel by Nahid Sırrı Örik brought to the screen is a joy. For an eye raised on literature, Kıskanmak is a film where the move from page to screen has been made with care. But viewers looking for the warmth of our old dramas will find a very different climate here: Demirkubuz does not let feeling out, he buries it. In gloomy Zonguldak it is not easy to bond with the characters wholeheartedly. Nergis Öztürk's performance, though, has the weight of the old masters and stays with you.

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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