Themes of honor and revenge have rarely been as brilliantly explored than in the short “In the Morning”. Based on a true, Danielle Lurie’s bold and important film is about a Turkish family’s desire to avenge the brutal rape of one of their own, a 16-year-old mother-to-be. Or so it seems. In a stunning twist, the rape victim’s 13-old brother is tragically tasked with killing her, his own sister (!), to cover up the family’s shame. As the shock of the moment settles in, the film’s endnote informs us that the preceding tragedy was an example of an Honor Killing, a disturbingly frequent phenomenon in far too many countries throughout the world (particularly Africa and the Middle East). With its striking direction and tense camera work, “In the Morning” leaves a lasting, devastating impression.
