Summer Book

Everyone has their own problems, no matter how old they are. Ten-year-old Ali gets bullied and taken advantage of by his classmates. His father, Mustafa, is a cold and stern man who ignores his family and demands things be done his way. He even rejects his oldest son Veysel's request to leave the military to study business at a university. To make matters more complicated, the boys' mother believes Mustafa does not love her anymore and is convinced that he is having an affair. Do the dilemmas ever end? These conflicts are given some liberation when Mustafa suffers a brain hemorrhage. As their patriarch lies in a coma, everyone wonders if their problems will ever be solved. Will Ali's suffering end? Will Verysel live out his own dreams or continue to live out his father's? Is there a mistress in the picture, or is Mustafa the hard-working lemon merchant he claims to be? Winner of the Best Turkish Film of the Year at the Istanbul International Film Festival, SUMMER BOOK shows the tensions of a family and the reality of their difficulties. (In Turkish with English subtitles) – L.W.