Pains of Autumn 2009

Set in Istanbul during the Pogrom of September 1955, the story follows Murat Yildirim as Behçet, the only son of a father whose powerful connections draw the attention of government and bureaucracy thanks to his influence in Antakya. While he works as an assistant researcher in the faculty of law in Istanbul, he finds himself pulled into the orbit of an extreme nationalist movement—a pull sharpened by his upbringing and the father figure who has shaped his loyalties.

Elena, Beren Saat, is a Greek prostitute whose life has been shaped by hardship and family struggle, exploited by her grandmother after her mother left. She becomes aware that Behçet is watching from his apartment, and she answers his gaze with a quiet curiosity and a growing affection. Their clandestine bond grows in the shadows of a tense city, a bond that unsettles Behçet and unsettles those around him. Elena’s awareness of his surveillance turns into a fragile trust, and she lends him a glimpse into a world beyond his rigid ideology.

The relationship is not welcomed by Behçet’s father or by the political party that dominates his world. As Elena and Behçet draw closer, the political currents around them tighten, exposing the conflict between private desire and public duty. The tension is intensified by Suat, Okan Yalabık, a friend whose fate becomes entangled with the party’s ruthless measures to suppress dissent. The death of Suat and the role his father plays with the party leaders to exterminate opposition force Behçet to confront the consequences of the beliefs he has been taught to defend.

As Istanbul is consumed by rioting aimed at its Greek minority, the story brackets intimate longing with a city-wide upheaval. In the chaos, Elena is killed by an activist amid the violence, a blow that leaves Behçet to face the stark reality of the world he helped shape. The sudden loss unsettles him deeply, and the streets that once pulled him toward pride and belonging now appear as a landscape of rupture and memory.

In the aftermath, Behçet carries Elena’s body and clings to the memory of her words, spoken in the quiet of her apartment. Her voice lingers as a counterpoint to the thunder of the streets, prompting him to reevaluate the beliefs that have long defined him. The film traces his struggle to reconcile personal longing with political allegiance, and it asks whether loyalty to family and ideology can withstand the weight of love, loss, and the harsh truths revealed in a city torn apart by prejudice and fear. Through its careful, restrained storytelling, the narrative invites reflection on the costs of nationalist fervor and the human stories that lie beneath a history of upheaval.