Young love can often be in a rush to bloom, but as Emetjan Memet explores in his short “Blessed Winter”, the younger generations are perhaps better off looking to the older generations for the direction in which they're heading.
Merdan (Ehsan Imam) is a young man intent largely on spending his days hanging outside his girlfriend Ekide's (Ezize Shuherat) house, waiting for the right moment to knock. But, wary of her parents, she is seemingly reluctant; a love letter having been recently found addressed to Ekide. But it is not from Merdan. Believing he knows who sent the letter, he tries to act as the aggressor, keeping any potential suitors away from his love. This is something that quickly backfires and leaves Merdan with several nosebleeds. These scrapes see him befriend Ekide's alcoholic father (Tusunmemet Ablez). A bond that scares her; and her mother (Adile Kurban) is worried past mistakes will repeat themselves.
Within just twelve minutes, Memet is able to tell quite a lot of story. Shot as a series of sketches, “Blessed Winter” is like a comic strip, with the camera taking a side-on view of discussions with each scene leading comically into the next. You gradually piece the story of the four together and are left to sympathise with the mother. She has nothing against Memet, but the time is not right, and she doesn't want her daughter's life to follow hers.
The sea of stonewashed blue walls that feature as the backdrop for the majority of scenes create a feel of summer warmth, but also a cold winter, as youthful vibrancy meets hardened maturity. Winter is a time for reflection, and the mother has certainly had plenty of time for that.
With clever timing and its comic strip storytelling, “Blessed Winter” shows both awkward naivety and assured maturity to warm the heart.
