The gripping Turkish dystopian fable In the Shadows imagines a place where people slave in a 19th century-type industry but are monitored by 21st century surveillance equipment. An unseen power dominates and controls the workers. But does it have an Achilles heel?
In the Shadows works largely because of the powerful performance by the Turkish-born German actor Numan Acar. Acar, who played the scary Taliban villain in Homeland, has the charisma and acting chops to move a compelling story with very little dialogue.
This is the third feature for writer-director Erdem Tepegoz, and it’s impressive movie-making.
There are than a few tastes of Orwell’s 1984 in In the Shadows. If you admired the 1984 Super Bowl commercial introducing Apple’s Macintosh, you’ll like this Turkish film. It won last year’s Turkish Film Critics Association Award.
I screened In the Shadows for its North American premiere at Cinequest and it made my Best of Cinequest 2021; you can stream it during the festival for only $3.99 at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.
Select Closed Caption to get the English subtitles in the trailer.