User Reviews

I have my qualms with this film and want to share them, but I can see the passion that went into it and I have good things to say as well.

The portrayal of Turkish culture felt very rich and authentic. It seemed to come from a place of great love and sadness. My family is from the area, and I could smile at all the little things I recognised from my own life. I'm glad that Turkey was treated with respect, because I feel like it's easy to vilify the restrictive culture in these kinds of stories.

Now for the downsides, I felt the pacing wasn't very good. This film is only an hour and a half. It definitely should've been at least two hours.

In the beginning, everything happened really quickly, and I felt like I didn't have time to react or process it. It took a bit to feel like I knew the characters, and so I was confused. I think the prioritising could've been better about what was important information to establish, and what didn't need to be mentioned. For example, the money issues of the family didn't really come into play, and Beyto's job and studies were kind of afterthoughts. I think Seher should've been introduced at the start of the film too, because we don't know anything about her until after the wedding, and her character arc had to be crammed in at the end.

The falling-in-love story also needed more time. It was like snap-snap-snap, they meet, they feel attraction, now they're together. I wasn't quite sure when it turned from a fling to a committed relationship.

Maybe the film could've started out during a family trip to Turkey. Then, you could show the family's beliefs/values, the friendship between Beyto and Seher, establish Beyto as a perfect son, and maybe have the family badger him about getting married, then hinting that Beyto is gay by his reaction. Then, after returning home, introduce his secret boyfriend. I think he could've already been dating Mike, since him falling in love onscreen doesn't add much to the plot. He doesn't struggle to accept his feelings before acting on them, or have any start-of-dating struggles. For the sake of clarity and time, the plot needed to be cut down.

I also think the way his parents found out just felt too convenient. If it was a slow thing, where they have suspicions and start investigating/questioning while Beyto struggles to cover the relationship up, it would've added more tension. As is, it feels like no sooner do they start dating than Beyto is outed.

The pacing issue affects the topic the film is trying to explore. A clash between cultural and romantic identity is something that's very very complex and nuanced, and I feel like that nuance didn't show itself in the film. The stakes of the complication could've been established better, and made to feel more dire, and the characters could've been given more complexity. It felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing, as almost all of the stakes were just explained to us by a character, so they didn't feel very real.

To keep talking about the characters, I'm a bit on the fence. As I said, I think they lack complexity. Beyto seemed too selfish at times, like when he almost ran away from Seher even knowing it'd ruin her life. She's his best friend, but he hardly showed her any empathy for a situation she's a victim of too. There needed to be compassion and love between them for the ending to feel like a happy one. I think the parents realising the consequences of their choice could've had WAY more exploration, and we should've seen how they felt about their son moving away. And finally, I couldn't like Mike. I wanted to. I tried. But he spent so much of the film being angry and not even hearing Beyto out, and acting like he should just throw away his whole family and life over such a new relationship. That, plus his violence, made him seem like an abusive partner. I didn't really want Beyto to be with him because it could easily become (or, probably, already is) a toxic relationship. I think Seher said it well when she told him he should learn about Turkey.

To end this review, I agree with the other person that said the acting was not very good. It's harder to tell through the language barrier, but the emotional scenes could be flat (blank faces while their voice is angry/sad) and there was a lot of sudden shouting swear words which was hard to take seriously. I think the performances felt a bit unmotivated.

Beyto is a really important and hard film. It's a story we don't see too often - yes we've seen unaccepting parents again and again, but we haven't seen the kind of forceful nature that still exists in a LOT of cultures like here in Beyto. It separates it from lots of recent queer cinema, and the split between views in Sweden versus views in Turkey are very apparent. I felt like I was really seeing into Beyto's family as a whole while watching.

As for positives, it's nice to see a piece that doesn't shy away from how homosexuality is shunned differently in Turkey. There's a family dynamic there that's hostile and heavy, with Beyto's parents caring about how they're seen first, and how they feel second. It's hard to watch the film descend further into a forced marriage, pulling his childhood best friend into the mix when Beyto, the lead himself, is so against living how his parents insist.

But I think the film falls short when outside of family exploration. There's a little too much focus on the relationship between Mike and Beyto, which feel forced and toxic. Mike is an atrocious person with little care for someone he supposedly loves. Beyto is in the midst of being threatened by his own parents and having his old friend dragged into drama, and Mike is berating him with texts despite knowing Beyto's area in Turkey has poor reception. Mike also fails to understand why Beyto can't up and out himself and proud about his sexuality. I'm not sure if there was an intention to call out privilege that Mike has, but it gets lost with the amount of aggression he shows. He's borderline violent and very moody, and it doesn't sit well that someone as soft and emotional as Beyto is risking family for that treatment.

When the film finished, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. A lot of the marketing was bait-y: shirtless Beyto and Mike. But the film had the chance to be a lot deeper than that. It certainly educated me on some Turkish culture, but I still felt they could've spent less time establishing Beyto & Mike, and more time fleshing out drama within the family due to Beyto's "interests."

This fine film is an eye opener for those in countries that regard respect and freedom normal towards homosexuality, and for them to understand that in many countries it is the opposite. Burat Ates plays a Turkish young man who falls in love with a farmer's son, played superbly by Dmitri Stapfer. Beyto ( Ates ) is an accomplished swimmer and Mike ( Stapfer ) is his trainer. It is love at first sight, and despite their desire to live together problems arise when Beyto is literally forced into marriage. But the woman he marries played finely by Ecem Ayden has a resolution to Beyto's unhappy situation, and here I will end any spoilers. So why is this such an eye opener ? It extended my knowledge of the world outside the liberal bubble I have had the privilege to live in for one thing, and also to understand more the pain it is to break away from the oppression that so many people in this world endure. The scenes set in Turkey are tenderly and beautifully conveyed, and the film also helped to try to understand the mindset of the oppressor and the terrible trap that has been set not only for his future wife, but for Beyto's conflicted responsibilities towards her. My one regret is that these scenes divorced me from Mike and that I saw less of his very moving performance. An excellent film that everyone should see and think hard about afterwards. A justifiable 10.

OMG.....how many times can this story be told? Are there any gay writers out there that aren't brain dead? We get it already...closeted gay boy falls for out gay boy. Out gay boy shames closeted gay boy for not coming out and acknowledging who he is. They have conflicts because of it. Closeted gay boy always has a girlfriend that mom and dad love. As expected girlfriends heart is broken, mom and dad disown (but only for bit, by end of movie they see the light). Closeted gay boys macho friends turn on him, but all is well because now he and out gay boy can live happily ever after. That is the formula for at least 50% of the gay movies available. May be different actors, different nationalities but the story is always the same. Can't writers just tell a good story without telling the same story over and over again? They are really not doing the LBGTQ community any favors.

First of all, sorry for my bad english. This movie has a good story i cried when watching this. The happy ending makes me cried omg this movie so beautiful. 10/10 that's it.

My reviews are not too concerned about production esthetics, as most reviews are! Mine concern is the narrative! Does it convey truths or untruths? Having said that, my take on Beyto was right on! The script showed how a stifling, traditional culture can override an individual's right to choose his own path in life! It showed how his mother ws denied this path, when she was forced to marry Beyto's father! But her acceptance did result in actually loving him! (one for 'their side!') When Beyto gave in to marry his boyhood girlfriend, I kept my fingers crossed, that he would stand strong and not give in to this overbearing culture!

Ironically, it seemed (forgot her name)his bride was also a free spirit, and only married Beyto to satisfy her father wishes! But both were in a Delima, if they acted on their true feelings , they faced ostracizing by the village (their parents) and if they stayed, they would forever have to live a lie!

I didn't! Why? We had two people caught up in a Whirlpool of conflicts, and both trying their best not to hurt the other! And both realizing they had to see the other's point of view!

I also agree that Beyto's Swiss lover (Steve?) was a bad choice, he appears self centered, paranoid and jealous! If there is a sequel, to this movie, I'll bet he won't be in it! (Ha!)