Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Woman falls for a fictional character; sex, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Ashes
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Gokce (Funda Erygit) is a wealthy clothing shop owner who lives with her publisher husband Kenan (Mehmet Gunsur) in ASHES. He praises her for her unerring judgment of the manuscripts that she reads for his company. But she is bored and aloof, even at a book launch party at their opulent home. In that mood, she picks up a manuscript called Ashes and is immediately mesmerized by the story of a woman sexually obsessed with "M," a married, scruffy carpenter who lives in a nearby neighborhood and frequents a local coffee shop. As Gokce goes through her day, the words of the book are read to us in her voice while ashes, either real or imagined, eerily fly through the air around her. She finds the café named in the book, hoping it will lead her to M and, bingo, she follows a customer to his carpentry shop. Will Gokce find love with Metin (Alperen Duymaz)?
Is It Any Good?
Ashes is somehow outlandish and boring at the same time. It presents one implausible premise after another until our politely suspended disbelief crashes to the ground in a muddled heap. A good portion of the first 20 minutes features a droning voiceover reading straight from a truly bad novel, which is not a great way to start. "I let M in on the secret that had only ever been mine. I was torn apart. A flesh and blood betrayal, the sum of their lies an insurmountable treachery." That wouldn't be so terrible but the words of the bad novel are supposed to convince us that Gokce would become mesmerized enough by the story to seek out a rather ordinary main character named "M." Unfortunately, never have written words been less likely to inspire passion. And why would a reader go looking for a fictional character, especially an uninteresting one? It's difficult to shake that question as the movie progresses.
The man Gokce finds in her search is an unfriendly, stooped, unkempt, hulking, sullen cipher. It's hard to swallow that she would, naturally, tail him to his carpentry shop and make an excuse to hire him. All the while, one wonders: Why do ashes keep fluttering through the streets? When Kenan asks Gokce what she thinks about the manuscript, she calls it "overdramatic and amateurish," and that is an apt description of the movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the likelihood someone would try to hunt down a fictional character from a badly written book. Does it matter that the plot is implausible? Why or why not?
Why do you think Gokce is obsessed with M? What is missing from her life that would spur her to obsess over a book?
Once M is introduced, what is your impression of him? Does he seem a likely romantic main character? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : February 9, 2024
- Cast : Funda Erygit , Alperen Duymaz , Mehmet Gunsur
- Director : Erdem Tepegoz
- Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 100 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : February 21, 2024
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