Interwinding timelines meshed together with political family drama is certainly a heavy time, but a feature film can do it well if cultivated correctly, balancing all aspects to create a coherent narrative with strong performances that would make the final feature something engaging. However, Ferit Karahan’s (Brother’s Keeper) newest feature, Djinn Wedding (Cinlerin Düğünü), tries to do way too much, gets too involved within political culture that seems prevalent for where film takes place and is not fully explained, and becomes too convoluted for its own good. There is a lot of hope and ideas in Djinn Wedding, but, unfortunately, there are just a few missing pieces to complete the puzzle for Karahan’s newest.
The movie focuses on four siblings throughout different stages of life, from childhood to adulthood and everything in between. Their family is rumoured to be cursed because they live in a house that is not theirs as it was taken after another family’s death. The film focuses on Deniz (İlhan Şen), the oldest son, who gets to escape their small village of Anatolian while his sister, Ceren (Demit Özdemir), has only one means of escaping the town and the supposed curse, and that is through marriage. Their middle sibling, Halit (Kaan Yildirim), is forced to stay behind and take care of their youngest and disabled brother, Yasin (Sarp Bozkurt). However, during Ceren’s wedding, flashbacks and memories resurface amongst the four siblings and reality starts to bend. The audience is taken on a mysterious journey as past and present blur their lines, forcing us to engage with the story in a more unconventional manner. There is nothing linear about Djinn Wedding.
Demit Özdemir as Ceren in DJINN WEDDING. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
While there is a lot to unpack and digest within Djinn Wedding, it isn’t a movie one simply watches. It is something that must be digested and pondered long after the credits roll as not every question is answered, and that may be part of the charm of the movie. It is frustrating, however, to have questions after two hours that will most likely never get answered, but, in a multilayered messy drama, that is also natural to life and the curve balls we get thrown on a day-to-day basis. The movie is layered with political and social commentaries, and as someone who does not follow world politics or cultures, this impact was sort of lost on me as an audience member. I’m not oblivious to some of the things that were taking place and the expectations and ramifications of not obeying conformity, but the smaller, more intricate issues were unfortunately lost.
Overall, the four performances from Demit Özdemir (Love Tactics), Kaan Yildirim (Love at Last), Sarp Bozkurt (Sen Kimsin?), and İlhan Şen (Aşk Filmi) did not land because the intricacies and political passion that motivate the script didn’t connect. There was never a moment where any of the four leads did something, or acted in a certain way, that captivated the attention and unhinged the jaws of the audience, having them in disbelief or moved by anything in their performance.
Djinn Wedding suffers from over-stated social and political commentary focused on a family drama with performances that do not move the audience. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the script, direction, or performances, there is nothing truly engaging or inspiring either. They lack something to sink our teeth into further despite leaving the audience with more questions than answers at the end. Ultimately, the overtly inside baseball political structure of the movie will dictate how much one wants to carry the conversation later and the overall impact of the film.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2026.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival Djinn Wedding webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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