Afloat

Afloat is a feature film from Turkish director-writer Aslihan Ünaldi. She sets her family drama on a sailboat in the Aegean Sea, embarking from a small village on the coast of Turkey. Sisters Zeynep (Nihan Aker) and Yasemin (Elit Iscan) and their divorced parents are on the boat, along with Zeynep’s American husband, Stephen (Oscar Pearce). Their father, Yusef (Serhat Ünaldi), has organized what he believes may be the last family gathering because he has been sentenced to prison for criticizing the Turkish government.

Zeynep and Stephen have traveled from their home in New York. Yasemin, the younger sister, resents her older sibling because of her success, and being forced to vacation together creates the first of many tensions that build as the trip proceeds. Yasemin is also angry with Yusef, feeling that he values his role as a political dissident over his commitment to his family and resents the time he’s spent away from the family as a result. This will be, of course, capped off by a prison sentence that could mean they’d never see him again.

Given Yusef’s age, there is some likelihood that the family will not see him again once he begins his prison time. He is terrified of going to prison, and they all await the results of an appeal together. Yusef tells Stephen they are sailing to paradise, and the beautiful blue waters and rugged coastline gliding by makes the statement believable.

“…Yusef has organized what he believes may be the last family gathering…”

Life on the boat would be idyllic if not for the amplified, complex dynamic of the family. The family is clearly accustomed to the trappings of wealth. The breathtaking scenery and peaceful sea are a mocking backdrop to the anger and fear growing onboard the boat. Yusef and his ex-wife Alev (Lila Gürmen) grate on each other as they try to settle into the forced holiday serenity. Yusef desperately attempts to reach out and connect with Yasemin, perhaps for the last chance he will have to do so, but she is intractably unreceptive.

Yasemin leaves the group when they’ve gone ashore, and a young man from their village, Ali (Eren Cigdem), finds her and brings her back to the boat. Back onshore Ali works for the family as driver and fixer, and ultimately gets swept up into the family chaos. When Stephen is unable to find his passport, Yusef suggests perhaps Ali has taken it.

Ünaldi directs Afloat confidently and gracefully. Her own father plays Yusef in his first film appearance. He handles the role as if he’d been onscreen for years. The bright, sunny sky and crystal blue sea are a feast for the eyes. The film moves deliberately as we visit, in turn, the struggles of each character and then zoom back out to see the results impacting the family as a whole. The performances are flawless, each actor holding back their character’s inner turmoil tightly, to be revealed gradually as slight tell on the surface.

For those unfamiliar with Turkey, Afloat paints a picture of a vibrant, passionate, conflicted culture in a beautiful place, struggling with differences that seem minor to outsiders.