Cici is a Turkish language drama film by Berkun Oya (Ethos, Sahra) and stars Yilmaz Erdogan (Magic Carpet Ride, Money Trap) in a pivotal role. The story revolves around a family of five, who are forced to leave their native village after a personal tragedy, involving the death of an abusive father. The film is mostly centred around the events of their return after three decades, only to relive the traumatic secret.
The cast of the film includes Ayça Bingöl, Fatih Artman, Funda Eryiğit, İncinur, Daşdemir, Nur Sürer, Okan Yalabık, Olgun Şimşek, Şevval Balkan, and Yılmaz Erdoğan. Moreover, it has a running time of two hours and thirty-one minutes. The total running time of the film is two hours and thirty-one minutes.
Cici Ending Explained
When the orthodox and seldomly abusive patriarchal head of the family (played by Yilmaz Erdogan) dies from extreme cold/ fever, their mother Haava takes the chain of command in the broken family and takes her children away from the village for a better future. The middle child Kadir who suffered the most in his childhood becomes a filmmaker and finds the voice of cinema to express his unattended emotions. This forms the basic crux of Berkun Oya’s film.
The eldest daughter Saliha never got to see Cemil again, and the youngest Yusuf remained completely oblivious to the real tragedy of the events. However, their mother never discloses the traumatic truth behind the death of their father, which leads to an air of anonymity around the tragedy.
When Kadir decides to recreate the events of his childhood through a film, the middle son goes completely meta and the cast’s almost all real-life persons pertaining to his life events. He also decides to choose their native house as the setting for the motion picture and recalls Cemil for reciting the same folk song.
However, Kadir fails to complete the film in time and his emotions get the better of him. The trauma of his childhood strikes back after he goes over the BTS footage filmed by his niece, and the final product gets delayed for two more years. Meanwhile, Yusuf comes along with his family to meet Kadir, and finalize the sale of their ancestral home.
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In these two years, Haava gets sicker and becomes completely delusional. Saliha takes care of her and the resources for the nursing house. All this while the rest of the siblings are busy with their own life difficulties.
One day, Saliha’s daughter finds the lost BTS footage and plays it for herself. This decision makes her sob uncontrollably, as she discovers the traumatic secret of the family. She decides to confront Kadir, and then the rest of the siblings. Therefore, when the entire family watches the footage, they discover that it was their mother Haava, who made a drugged tea for Fekir, her husband. Which was the reason why he didn’t wake up from the cold breeze and ended up dying with a fever.
Yusuf, the oblivious one gets enraged and fails to find any reason for the story. Kadir tries to comfort him, while Saliha stands completely numb after the revelations. At last, when everyone leaves the room, Haava returns to her delusional state and repeats some meaningless sentences.
It’s only after a deep pause, that we get to know the deep meaning of those words. Finally, in her old state of mind, she remembers that it was her own actions, that were responsible for Fekir’s death. Furthermore, the camera stays on her for a long until the screen fades to black. As if giving some time for the burden of guilt and trauma, to sink in.
You can watch the emotional drama film on Netflix. Tell us your thoughts about it in the comment section below.
Also Read: Cici Review: Unearthing Trauma Through the Lens of Camera