Sour Apples begins in the 1970s in the southeastern mountains of Turkey, as sisters Safiye, Türkan and Muazzez grow up in the apple orchard of their authoritarian father (also the former mayor of the closest city). They wear traditional garb and have little autonomy, though each has a huge spirit and a desire for romance.

Muazzez meets Özgür, who is visiting a cousin, when he steals an apple and she is intrigued by his sweet-smelling hair. A gift of shampoo causes a beating but seems worth it even though no one in the family know how to use this strange liquid. Each sister is romanced and must decide how far she is willing to step outside of conventional female roles.

On the surface this might seem like a sweet, funny costume drama. However, the film is an intense tribute to the culture and past that the family must leave behind in order to benefit from certain aspects of modernity. It is violence and civil unrest which eventually sends the ethnically Kurdish family across the country to a completely unrecognizable life. All that remains is the close ties of family.

The girls are women now and some of their choices have turned out better than others. There is no question that they have achieved freedom which would not have been possible in the apple orchard. But the film is always a balance of sweet and sour and recognizes the contradictions of life and romanticism of the past. This is a highly entertaining family saga, sharp, funny and impeccable acted.

The film was made by Yılmaz Erdoğan, who also plays Aziz, the father. It features unbelievably gorgeous scenery and cinematography. A sequence in which the family travels with a big group to the 'highlands' where for some for the summer they return to their nomadic routes, is visually stunning. Life there also offers all the characters a glimpse at freedom and the lives they might lead away from strict convention.

Watch the trailer here.

The film shows in the VIFF favourites series. Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 8:45 PM at Vancity Theatre.