Beyto

A sort of patchwork. Two young men, very different, mates , in love. Two different cultures. A wedding. And the challenges front to the young men. A nice film, first for the effort to convince but remaining a work made with patches , each patch being more interesting alone, more than as part of a film who looks for demonstrate too much. One of nice virtues - the work of Ecem Aydin as Seher. Maybe, the end , to But, sure, a love/ coming out film careful crafted than defines Beyto as decent one.

That doesn't mean that the film is not thought provoking. The first thing to say is that the oppression, the forced marriages, the disapproval of homosexuality, the patriarchy are nothing to do with religion but are cultural. Not once is reference made to god or religion to justify the actions and attitudes in the film, rather to culture, family and community. It would be wrong to see this film as a diatribe, more a commentary on the conformity engendered by a homogenous culture.

I have lived one of the themes of the film vicariously. A younger work colleague whose parents just suspected that he was gay was tricked into going to Pakistan and marrying a cousin from his parents' village. It's an appalling situation and one that pertains in many cultures and societies all over the world. This is partly why I found the film so relevant and thought provoking.

Beyto was brought up in Switzerland where such mores are an irrelevance yet he was still indoctrinated with them. He's careful, but not careful enough and gets caught out which leads to the tragic events of the film and the awful outcomes for so many people. The family had hoped to keep the "shame" under wraps but it blows up in their faces. Fortunately he has friends of Turkish descent who were born in the West who can help him out.

I am being deliberately vague as I don't want to have spoilers here. I have to say though that the ending is idealised too far for my taste which is why I have given a seven.

The film in general has an authenticity that I liked, especially the scenes shot in Turkey. I live in a Muslim country, albeit an Arab one, but so many of the customs and beliefs are the same or similar. I have friends who have had to deal with these issues so it's very close to home for me.

I can't say that this is a profound film, it's more an entertaining and moving story showing very real situations that many unfortunate people have to submit to everywhere. The leading men, Mike and Beyto, were attractive lads and Seher, the wife, had a personality.

There are quite a few films in the germanosphere exploring relationships between Westerners and guys of Turkish descent. This is one of the nicest of them.

The film centres around a culture crash, between living in Turkey (west) and Switzerland (east), in regard to homosexuality, forced marriage, and cultural peer pressure/oppression.

The script has some flaws, and isn't deep, but is enjoyable and still relevant and thought-provoking.

The scenes are pleasantly shot and transmit some authenticity, specially the scenes in Turkey.

The main actors are attractive, although there was some lack of skill amongst the cast, which left me concerned earlier, but it did improve. Although only a few characters get some development/growth, we do get to see their background, which can lead to some understanding on their views.

One of the parts I enjoyed the most was also the soundtrack, as the music is good, without crashing into pop stereotypes, and is very well applied to the scenes, amplifying the culture differences.

The first scenes had me worried about clichés of gay film, but 20 min in the plot becomes more about cultural differences.

And then the plot had me so enthralled and the story was so suspenseful I couldn't stop watching. Great film, worth a watch!

It was interesting to read some of the reviews here. Many found this tale interesting and then, of course, some did not. I agree that the plot of it has been approached in other films, but the one aspect that made it special for me was the fact that Beyto never disavows who he is. He knows exactly what he wants and regardless of the situation, he remains steadfast in his quest. Whether or not he deserves the other guy, isn't the issue. The heart knows what the heart wants and Beyto never loses that focus, even when all the odds seem to be against him. That is what I found fresh about this story and for that fact alone, I enjoyed watching the outcome. Nice production and some moving scenes! Enjoy.