THE STORY – In a remote village high in the Turkish mountains, the return of an exiled clan reignites a decades-old land feud. While dormant resentments resurface, Mesut, the local leader’s brother, is seized by unsettling visions. Believing them to be divine warnings, he starts to challenge his brother’s leadership. Religious convictions, power struggles, and tensions surge in the community. Will this all lead to tragedy or salvation?
THE CAST – Caner Cindoruk, Berkay Ateş, Feyyaz Duman, Naz Göktan & Özlem Taş
THE TEAM – Emin Alper (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 120 Minutes
All across the world, conflicts are happening right now where neither side truly remembers why they’re fighting in the first place. Whether it’s religious wars that date back more than two thousand years or gang warfare whose conflict comes down to little more than reputation and control, “Salvation” offers an in-depth look at how violence breeds more violence over and over again until the root of a conflict becomes largely irrelevant. It focuses on the reasons humanity drifts toward war and demonstrates how this bloodshed often becomes an inescapable, endless cycle.
“Salvation” takes place high in the Turkish mountains, where two rival villages are fighting for control of fertile land: Upper Pingan on the peaks and Lower Pingan in the shadowy valleys below. When the Bezari clan was forced to leave Lower Pingan due to the country’s growing terrorist presence, the Hazerans of Upper Pingan stayed behind to fight and took control of their rivals’ land in their absence. But when the Bezaris return to claim what’s theirs, the Hazerans struggle to come to a consensus: Do they relinquish the lands they stole from the Bezaris and return to poverty, or make a stand and fight for their new wealth?
This question is the driving force of “Salvation,” and the film does an incredible job of demonstrating how violence is often the inevitable outcome and how even the most noble attitudes about protecting one’s clan can subtly and irreversibly morph into uncontrollable bloodlust when left unchecked. The film presents power and wealth as forces of ultimate corruption, culminating in a bone-chilling thesis about humanity’s innate desire to exert dominance over rivals.
“Salvation” is a very plot-heavy story, with twists and turns happening at every corner to keep the audience engaged. Whether it’s the ongoing leadership contest between Sheikh Ferit (Feyyaz Duman) and his brother Mesut (Caner Cindoruk), the constant attempts at espionage between the two clans, or Mesut’s increasingly vivid dreams that he interprets as divine permission to wage war against his rivals, there’s always something happening in “Salvation” that demands attention. Even the film’s quieter moments, which do an excellent job of building tension and furthering character development, feel immediately purposeful and drive the narrative forward. Some moments in the final act admittedly feel rushed and don’t quite wrap everything up as gratifyingly as one might hope. Still, in general, director and writer Emin Alper does an excellent job of keeping his story as tight as possible and maintaining a sharp, propulsive momentum throughout.
Alper’s talent with a camera is just as impressive as his talent with a pen, and his directorial style does much of the heavy lifting in creating a dense, immersive atmosphere throughout “Salvation.” There’s a real sense of lingering tension to this film that Alper forges through slow camera movements, deliberately obscure framing, and deeply atmospheric shots that mask their subjects with mist and darkness. In combination with its fast-paced story and undeniably dark themes of self-perpetuating violence, “Salvation” makes for a gripping viewing experience that barely gives the viewer a moment to breathe.
The performances are another clear highlight of “Salvation,” with Cindoruk standing out as the ensemble’s most compelling, scene-stealing presence. His character development is a crucial element of the film’s deeper commentary, and the way Cindoruk’s performance gradually morphs from a restrained, inhibited civilian into someone blinded and corrupted by divine purpose is expertly rendered. Once he fully steps into the spotlight and becomes the main figure of the story, which happens surprisingly late in the film, given how crucial he is to its central thesis, “Salvation” really picks up speed and pulses forward with a very clear purpose.
There’s been lots of external discussion about politics at the Berlinale this year, with several actors, filmmakers, and creatives swerving questions about the increasingly distressing state of the world today. In that climate, “Salvation’s” shameless, unabashed condemnation of violence and warfare feels refreshingly confident. Alper is making a very clear statement with this film that violence, though often inevitable, is most frequently a consequence of people with underlying prejudices and bloodthirsty dispositions being given absolute control.
As the feud between the Bezaris and Hazerans morphs from an inconvenient dispute over land into bloody, indiscriminate slaughter, it becomes obvious that “Salvation” isn’t pulling its punches with its political commentary. It’s a deeply unsettling reflection of the world we’re living in, which allows its bold, memorable ending to land with exactly the intended impact. “Salvation” certainly won’t have you leaving the theater with a renewed faith in the world. Still, it may teach you something crucial about the futility, selfishness, and egoism of militarized revenge.
