Short Film Review: “Salah”
Directed by Yüksel Çilingir
Turkey • Drama • 11 Mins
Ali, a refugee now based in Belgium, is shocked to hear of his father’s death. Consumed with feelings of guilt and desperation as he cannot return home to attend the funeral, he tries to reconnect and say goodbye to his father through a ritual.
Salah opens with Ali on a Skype call to a teacher during a Dutch language lesson. With a family photo placed next to his laptop, as well as other mementos from home close by, Ali is surrounded by and indulging in a vibrant mix of different cultures, yet you get the impression that, as he clutches an origami bird looking out of his window with wide eyed ambition and hope just after finishing a Dutch language lesson, he’s trying to pull away from his past and look forward to a brighter future. There’s a childlike sense of wonder and innocence to him as he plays with the origami bird, giving his character a wonderful sense of depth and hopefulness, but upon receiving the letter from home, informing him of his father’s passing, his roots and heritage begin to pull him back.
Salah is a powerful yet unassuming film. Everything transpires in an almost documentary fashion with quietness, calm and reflective stillness. It’s a simple story hitting broadly on themes of grief, loneliness and isolation, but is more about faith, heritage and staying in touch with your roots.
As the film goes on, you begin to see just how sparse, sad and empty his room is. He actually has very few positions and the few keep sakes he does have - family and religious photos - are clearly very important to him. Yet his room is actually no different later in the film to how it was in the beginning. It’s actor Mohamed Mannoun’s clever & thoughtful performance that breathes personality & youthful optimism into the character that lights up the room and director Yüksel Çilingir’s subtle and assured control over the performance, framing and emotion that control the changing dynamic of the location, and in turn the film. His room starts off feeling like home, but as he tries to reconnect with his father and faith, it becomes just a space that he occupies.
Throughout the film the origami bird makes several appearances, each time seeming to symbolise something new, suggesting that nothing in life is forever, nor is anything one thing or the other. We’re allowed to transform, evolve and grow, yet wherever we go, however we change, we somehow stay the same in some sense, and this is perhaps Ali’s true lesson.
Salah is a very poignant short film with great depth about grief & regret and the unshakable bonds we have to our roots.
8/10
Salah was nominated for Best Student Film at our 2022 film festival.
Reviewed by Philip Pugh
