Film & Book Review

This week, we’re delving into Turkish Literature with Barış Bıçakçı’s book and exploring French Cinema through François Truffaut’s film. Join me for a fascinating journey into these captivating worlds!

Our Grand Despair, Barış Bıçakçı

The love story of two men and a woman is one of the subjects that literature and cinema deal with. Since the story of two women and a man is more appropriate in social roles than the first type of relationship, the resulting drama is only about the suffering of the two women. A relationship involving two men, on the other hand, is more difficult to accept in the social dimension (because the possessive role expected from masculinity is not fulfilled) and the resulting drama leads to a more intricate story.

Our Great Despair also includes the story of two men’s close friendship and falling in love with the same woman, written by Barış Bıçakçı. However, the book tells more of a friendship story than a love story.

Çetin and Ender, two childhood friends, separated only during the university period; but they spent this time by correspondence. The strong friendship between them turned into a comradeship and the two eventually started living in the same house in Ankara, the city where they were born.

In the book, which is an example from recent Turkish literature, there is no trio French love affair; the love for the female character is never shared with her. Two friends, Çetin and Ender, only share their feelings for Nihal with each other. At this moment, two friends feel the happiness of falling in love with the same woman; They hug each other like they like the same song.

The story in the book is narrated by Ender. However, in the story, which is told as if speaking, Çetin sometimes intervenes and says something. There are places where the narrator turns into two people. The recent past is told to the reader in the story. We read about Nihal, Çetin and Ender, who is no longer with them, before they move to their house, their move to the house and their departure.

After losing her parents in an accident, Nihal moves in with her brother’s friends, Çetin and Ender. While they think it will be a short-term stay, the bond formed between them keeps Nihal in that house. Nihal, who is younger than Çetin and Ender, is still a university student.

She sees Çetin and Ender as her elder brothers, so they cannot form friendships for a long time. Çetin and Ender, on the other hand, decide to keep their distance from Nihal when they see the changes in their inner world. However, Nihal’s cute ways, facial expressions and face are always in their minds. Nihal in Ender’s words is “like a marble to be shaped”.

The definition of “woman like a statue” in Jules and Jim is similarly encountered here. Nihal, like Catherine, will go out of this after a while and will have her own hands shaping herself. Nihal grows up, matures and begins to define herself as a woman, not a little sister, in front of Çetin and Ender. “To women how much you like to pretend that there is always a mystery that you can’t solve! The woman is just like you; We are not books, we are not butterflies!” she says and rebels against them one day.

Even though Çetin and Ender see that Nihal is growing up, they have fun with her feminist debuts. However, when Nihal comes home drunk one day, Çetin and Ender see that their role of big brothers has been shaken. The jealousy of love takes them both captive. Eventually, they become jealous of each other and question their friendship.

However, although she enjoys being loved, Nihal draws a different path from them. The two friends are alone again. They continue from where they left off as if they were comforting each other after they had passed a difficult test. Both have changed, but their friendship awaits them where they left off.

Jules and Jim, François Truffaut

This week, I will describe an example of French New Wave Cinema again. Jules and Jim, which I rewatched recently. The 1962 film was directed by François Truffaut.

Aiming to break the stereotypes of the French New Wave in cinema, we discussed there is a movement that achieves this with its editing, shooting techniques and scenario flows.

Truffaut gives very successful examples as one of the most important names of the movement. He is a director who seeks the moments when cinema is freed from the yoke of the plot.

Despite this, he enthusiastically includes literary references; This may seem surprising at first. However, Truffaut does not transfer the plot of literature directly to the film. It feeds on the contrast between literature and cinema. Influenced by his book, he places the traces of his cinematic understanding in every scene in the films he shoots.

Jules and Jim is a movie inspired by a novel. Adapted from Henri-Pierre Roché’s novel of the same name, the characters in the film are more than just characters from the novel. The story contains different cause-effect relationships than what is written in the novel. It can be said that Truffaut has brought a new interpretation to Roché’s novel. Truffaut has made his way towards the real richness of the literature-cinema relationship by nullifying the limits of conventional adaptations.

Jules and Jim is basically the story of two friends who fall in love with the same woman. Their friendship begins in Paris before the First World War. Although they have different characters from each other, they achieve a great harmony that brings them closer together. They talk about theatre, art and women. Their conversations feed and develop each other. They are connected to each other by an unbreakable bond.

One day, they are very impressed by the sculpture of a woman shown by a friend who is interested in sculpture. Jules says he wishes that a quiet woman with such a smile would come into his life. Jim was also impressed by the statue’s smile; he desires the same woman. And soon Catherine enters their lives. The camera zooms in on Catherine’s smile, her lips. Jules and Jim believe they have found that woman.

It is not a coincidence that the characters like and desire a statue. It is a direct reference to gender roles. The desired woman is as beautiful as a statue, smiling and silent. This definition of woman describes a woman who will meet the expectations of society. In the first half of the movie, Catherine appears in accord with this description. Up until her first silent protest, it suits the portrait of the desired woman.

In the second half of the movie, we realize that Catherine is a woman who is far from society’s expectations and is in an internal conflict with this definition. The first silent protest I mentioned is a pretty strong first sign. 3 friends came out of a theatre and they discuss the play they watched. Catherine walks one step ahead of them, seemingly indifferent to what is being said.

Commenting on the game, Jules says, “I expect eternal loyalty from a woman. A woman’s loyalty is more important than a man’s loyalty”. Catherine says “you are both idiots”, quickens her steps and throws herself into a river. Jules and Jim are shocked, Jules can’t make sense of this move. But as Jim watches Catherine, he realizes that he is in love with her. Yet Catherine and Jules became close; Jules asks Jim not to get close to Catherine. Jim values ​​his friendship and acts accordingly.

An important development occurs that divides the film into two; World War I breaks out and Jules and Jim are forced to enlist. Two friends fight against each other in hostile countries. They both live in fear of killing each other, and Jim even changes fronts because of this. After the war, Jules and Catherine marry. Jim goes to Austria to visit his friends and the second half of the movie begins.

The second part is the part where Catherine is far from the social female role stereotypes. She is now a mother, but she is far from the role of a mother as she is far from the role of a faithful wife. In the episode where Jim comes to visit them, the friendships of all three are tested. But Jules and Jim have a friendship incomparable to love; They don’t want to lose each other. However, the type of relationship where the three of them are together do not bring happiness. After that, Catherine makes her final protest.

Although the film basically tells the story of friendship and love, moral problems, internal conflicts, roles of masculinity and femininity, war and its effects are the most important points of the story. This is what separates the film from the French classic “ménage-à-trois”. The film has influenced many directors who talk about friendship and love; The narrative, editing, shooting and some scenes in the film have been the inspiration for some directors’ own films. It has become a classic among Truffaut’s films.