Wrong Rosary-Uzak ihtimal (2009)

Directed by: Mahmut Fazil Coskun | 90 minutes | drama | Actors: Rahman Altin, Nadir Saribacak, Ersan Unsal, Gorkem Yeltan

Istanbul has been a multicultural, multi-religious city since time immemorial. The Turkish city bisected by the Bosphorus is seen as the intersection of Western and Eastern cultures. This fact is regularly used by filmmakers to make films with a multicultural focus. One of these films is ‘Wrong Rosary’ by the debuting Turkish director Mahmut Fazil Coskun.

‘Wrong Rosary’ tells the story of the aspiring muezzin Musa (Nadir Saribacak) who sets foot in Istanbul for the first time (a muezzin in Islam is the one who calls to prayer). Musa is assigned a flat and soon meets his neighbor Clara (Görkem Yeltan) in the hall of the apartment building, for whom he develops warm feelings. However, it is an impossible love, because Clara is a sister in the Catholic monastery nearby. ‘Wrong Rosary’ is told in a pleasant, slow tempo and there are few dialogues. Coskun therefore knows how to tell his story almost completely with images.

With the film, the director paints an intriguing picture of Istanbul, where different cultures live peacefully side by side. In ‘Wrong Rosary’, however, it appears that these cultures do live in totally separate worlds. Musa has hardly any idea what a church looks like inside. Coskun portrays this beautifully when Musa goes to church to give Clara back her rosary, which she had lost earlier in the day. You see Musa’s inquisitive look as he enters the Christian house of worship. However, Coskun also cleverly emphasizes the similarities between the different religions. After Clara loses her rosary in the hall of the flat, Musa holds it with her, intending to return the prayer beads to her later. Because of this, however, he makes the mistake of taking the wrong prayer cord in the mosque. He doesn’t notice this until someone else points it out to him.

In 2009, ‘Wrong Rosary’ rightly won a Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. With its beautiful images of Istanbul, the film manages to make you think about a fascinating society with a simple fact. ‘Wrong Rosary’ is the first film from director Mahmut Fazil Coskun. So hopefully we can expect a lot more from him in the future.