Yellow Letters Review (2026 Karlovy Vary IFF)
İlker Çatak's latest is a masterpiece of suspense and human drama...
Have you ever feared your online presence would jeopardise your work? Even more so, how much do you strategise about expressing your political and personal stances, online and offline?
Yellow Letters tells of Derya and Aziz (Özgü Namal and Tansu Biçer), a married couple in their 40s, who suddenly lose their theatre and university jobs because somewhere and somehow they expressed anti-governmental opinions. Being intellectually rigorous and ideologically driven, the couple assumes a steadfast position, standing their ground on every occasion. But one can withstand that much, for the ground is a living matter, and ideologies are as thin as ice.
In the background, the city is afflicted by an outpouring of threats, street demonstrations and social upheavals, and we learn about the locality through the conversations the couple has with friendly faces. Intermittent shots, however, warn us of curious, unsolicited exile: ‘’Berlin as Ankara” and “Hamburg as Istanbul”. The merging of the cities across countries gives a sense of historicity to a story that could feel otherwise dramatically real but, conversely, is aestheticised acutely by cinematic stagings of reflections and framing interventions (also, do people still smoke that much?)
Anyhow, the concept of displacement – or better, dislocation – is very present and very relevant in İlker Çatak’s fifth feature, fresh off its Golden Bear win at the Berlinale. The German-Turkish director here builds upon the work of Fatih Akin, while he also moves past his previous soft yet impactful social narrations, for a more assertive and bold depiction that works in multiple layers. I cannot help but think that this film came about rather belatedly (considering the current geopolitical climate and the ever-rising authoritarian regimes). But I guess good things are worth waiting for, right?
Getting bolder is a perilous deal, one of risks and compromises. Although Çatak avoided the former, he became very explicit with the latter. Much of the specificities of the political landscape that fuel the troubles for the pair are firmly kept from disclosure, creating a trivial, almost generic atmosphere that is equally propositional and engaging. Halfway through, Çatak makes his intentions clear: right or left, weak or strong, upon authority request (aka, a yellow letter, or Gelber Brief), your life shall derail and potentially crash. By the end, Derya and Aziz, a couple originally so synchronised as if in a poly-practised tango, are left untied only for fear for their daughter’s life.
The director of the high-pitched drama The Teachers’ Lounge has accomplished another elevation of suspense here, with Yellow Letters maintaining a rhythmical stream of movements within each frame and across the scenes. The sequences are well-detailed and rehearsed, impersonating a life seamlessly existing in the camera’s presence, while examining the power of theatre (a topic that’s also negotiated among the characters). Chances are not factored in; a well-calculated script confidently demonstrates that things are not victims of coincidence, but are just meant to be, consequently. Equal to the political forces that disrupt and coerce, decisions, however spontaneous and flickering, have power as well.
★★★★★
Premiered at the 2026 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as part of the Horizons / Özgü Namal, Tansu Biçer, Leyla Smyrna Cabas, İpek Bilgin/ Director: İlker Çatak
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