Sensiz Yasayamam Starring Hulya Kocyigit and Cemal Gencer - Directed by Metin Erksan -1977

Sensiz Yasayamam or when translated into English it means I Cannot Live Without You. This is a film from 1977, directed and written by the enigmatic Metin Erksan. When you hear the name Metin Erksan you automatically assume that the movie you are about to watch is going to be original and wierd in a good way. This film is a psychological romantic thriller with an unexpected twist ending . It stars Hulya Kocyigit and Cemal Gencer. Hulya Kocyigit's character is that of a successful business woman who finds out that she has cancer and less than a year to live. She does not want to live and die a painful death but she hasn't got the courage to take her own life. She then heads off to a holiday resort in the Northern Turkish Republic Of Cyprus. From there she makes her plans for her own demise by hiring a professional hitman to fly in from mainland Turkey. Upon arrival to Northern Cyprus, the hitman played by Cemal Gencer, in one of his earliest film roles, is paid his fee for the hit. He meets up with the tormented woman in her hotel suite where she reveals that she is the target and he is the executioner. She tells him that he must kill her whenever she demands to be killed. After her command is given he must not go against her wishes, even if she changes her mind, begs him not to kill her or offers him more money to cancel her own killing. She reminds him constantly that he is the executioner and that she is the sacrificial lamb. The hitman is the doomed woman's shadow, he follows her everywhere she goes on the exotic island resort, which at most times seems to be strangely almost like a ghost town. She leaves herself open for the kill even as the gunman is practising his shooting skills on a clothes store mannequin. The inevitable happens, the hitman falls in love with his intended victim, they wed and things aren't happily ever after. I won't giveaway the rest of the plot because it might spoil the ending of the film.

Sensiz Yasayamam is another strong movie by the remarkable Turkish director Metin Erksan. It resembles his two other cult films, namely Sevmek Zamani and Kadin Hamlet in its style of direction and its use of photographic techniques. Some of the shots in this film resemble ones in both those movies ie the way they are set up and composed and by the use of close-ups. There's also the female mannequin that's used for target practice which reminds one of the one used in the final boat scene in Sevmek Zamani? Also, during a scene set on a castle, references to Shakespeare's Othello are made. 

This is a movie with really only two main characters in it who sustain their roles through nearly most of the film's running time. In my opinion the two lead actors pull off their roles covincingly, Hulya Kocyigit as the slowly dying stoic woman and Cemal Gencer as the stone-cold silent hired killer who shows little in the way of emotion in most of the film. Sensiz Yasayamam is an original romantic thriller with a surreal like quality. It has an effective musical score that includes a Gulden Karabocek song, a disco number and if I'm not mistaken, some music which sounds like it's taken from the Planet Of the Apes (?) soundtrack. In the credits it is stated that permission was granted by the Turkish Cypriot government, the armed forces and its people, in making this film possible. To sum up, this film has nice atmospheric photography, attractive looking lead actors in an unusual love story with a strange premise and wierd ending. I would certainly recommend it. Lastly, Sensiz Yasayamam needs to be restored and released on a proper dvd for both the domestic and international markets. It was recently available on an unsubbed vcd which has since been deleted. The following snapshots are taken off that vcd and have been fixed up a bit by using HP image zone.