Festival of Troubadours Plot Synopsis
‘The Festival of Troubadours’ is a sombre and intimate exploration of a conflicted father-son relationship that is premised on Kemal Varol’s novel with the same title. Since the duo has never really communicated for the past 25 years, it is a reach to even consider it a relationship. Heves Ali is a traveling musician who has been separated from his family for years. However, since his health is deteriorating, he visits his wife’s burial site, and to his child.
The fact that Yusuf, a successful attorney, hasn’t seen his father since the day after his mother’s funeral only adds to the difficulty of the situation. Heves knocks on Yusuf’s door and offers no explanation regarding his arrival other than the fact that he needs to get to Kars for the troubadour celebration. It doesn’t take long to realize that the old man’s health is deteriorating and that his sudden arrival is a sort of farewell.
When Yusuf learns that Heves is attending a music festival, he decides to join. Old emotions resurface further along the journey as the father and son accept and adapt to the time they weren’t able to spend together.
What is the movie’s inspiration?
Turkish author Kemal Varol’s prize-winning novel, Aşklar Bayram, served as the inspiration for “The Festival of Troubadours”. Together with the movie’s director, Zcan Alper, he contributed towards writing the storyline of this movie. The author, who wrote the book as a tribute to his dad, drew on his personal history to develop the complex father-son relationship that serves as the narrative’s central theme.
He added his own sentiments about his dad, and he discovered that, in writing this, it helped him cope with his own despair. Other authors and filmmakers who have written about related topics, such as Yusuf Atlgan, Hasan Ali Toptas, Orhan Pamuk, Kafka, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, also had an impact on him.
What justification does Whimsy Ali give Yusuf for staying the night?
The Festival of Troubadours’ main conflict derives from the tense relationship between a dad and his son. The movie centers on two key characters and poses challenging questions about parental responsibility, forgiving others, and compassion.
Yusuf is a single attorney in his late 30’s. Yusuf keeps to himself because he is quiet, reserved, and exudes a sense of distance. One day, he finishes his work and returns to his apartment only to meet his elderly father, Whimsy Ali, who intends to stay for the night.
Although Yusuf notices that his father is hurting, the man dismisses it, saying that it’s nothing. He adds that he only requires an overnight stay because he will travel to Kars by bus the following day.
Why does Yusuf choose to accompany his father?
While he is sleeping, Yusuf verifies his medical information and learns how dire his condition is. Since he’s aware of his illness, Yusuf goes the extra mile to prevent him from taking the bus, but his father refuses. Eventually, he decides to accompany and drive him directly to Kars.
What psychological baggage does Yusuf unveil while travelling?
While they are traveling, Yusuf confronts his father about his decision to completely abandon him and carry on living his own life. He expresses his frustration and asks him why, despite spending many years in boarding school, he didn’t bother to ask about him.
Yusuf claims his father only ever thinks about himself, his endeavors, and his goals. Yusuf accuses his father of being unkind repeatedly, but his father refuses to answer and continues to keep Yusuf in the dark.
What does Yusuf discover about his dad?
Yusuf learns a lot concerning his dad as the journey continues, including the fact that he loved and adored a rural woman but wed somebody else despite his feelings. He also learns that even though his father frequently went back to the village, his actions were never forgotten.
Why does Yusuf take his father to the festival?
The only thing Yesuf’s father wants more than anything is to go to the Festival of Troubadours and see his friends play while his condition deteriorates. After Yusuf brings his dad to the legendary festival, the event reaches its climax. Yusuf wants to protect his father’s wishes even though he has limited time left with him. In order to fulfill his father’s last wish, he gets a private ambulance.
How is Ali treated at the festival?
Ali receives a magnificent and appropriate ode from his longtime troubadour pals with a spectacular performance, even though his symptoms worsen with every second. When the show is over, his condition deteriorates on the way back, and he passes away.
Do father & Son resolve their differences?
Ali passes away from his illness and Yusuf goes through emotional turmoil. Yusuf exits the ambulance in tears and crosses the street on foot where he sits down and sobs. The definitive word in the Festival of Troubadours’ conclusion is acceptance. Since his father passed away, he is left without anyone to direct his fury or frustration towards.
Yusuf had always longed to be taken care of and cherished. It’s the outpouring of long-bottled-up rage. He takes a moment to consider how his dad could never be present for him all at once. He is aware of his motivations for leaving, and he cannot change them or allow them to consume him day after day.
Yusuf recognizes himself in the dad and his young son he encounters in the mountain from a distance. The dad has a troubadour’s likeness. The sole memory he has of his father and him is from a single picture, taken while Yusuf was a child, in which his dad’s left hand is resting on Yusuf’s shoulder. There’s also the picture he took while traveling that passes quickly by. It covers their shared journey as strangers who had to be cordial despite never fitting the norm.
Read More: Festival of Troubador Movie Review