Hesitation Wound

Turkish Criminal lawyer Canan divides her time between mornings in court and evenings in her mother’s hospital bed. On the day of the sentencing hearing of a murder suspect whom Canan is defending, she must make a moral choice that will affect the lives of her mother, the judge, and the defendant.

In this Turkish legal drama, we see one day in the life of criminal defence attorney Canan, juggling her job with a personal tragedy. In the courthouse where she spends her days, she tries to save an accused man – who claims he’s innocent – from life imprisonment. In the hospital where she spends her nights, she’s looking for reasons to keep her mother on life support. Meanwhile the doctor argues that it’s time to let go. And so does Canan’s sister Belgin, a married mother whose life choices contrast with those of career woman Canan.  

Tülin Özen, in the lead role, is breathtaking as Canan, a tightly contained professional who denies her own vulnerability. It’s also a fantastic and high-energy roller coaster through the Turkish court system, in which writer-director Selman Nacar, a former law student, peels away the assumptions of an apparent open-and-shut case.