Saturn in Opposition (Bir Ömür Yetmez)

Ferzan Özpetek directed this Italian-French co-production, released in Italy in 2007 and shown in Turkey later that year. The story centers on a large circle of friends who have spent years side by side: several couples of very different temperaments, plus Paolo, who has only recently been welcomed into their midst. From the outside their lives look orderly and fulfilled, but behind closed doors each couple wrestles with unspoken problems and private secrets. Everything is upended when Lorenzo, one of the group's own, dies without warning; shaken by the loss, the friends gradually allow their long-suppressed feelings to come to the surface. The title alludes to the astrological notion of Saturn in opposition, said to herald break-ups, upheaval and new encounters, and the film asks why accepting separation is so painful, whether in friendship or in love. Özpetek wrote the screenplay together with Gianni Romoli; the ensemble cast features Stefano Accorsi, Margherita Buy, Pierfrancesco Favino and Serra Yılmaz.