Faraway Review

Streaming movie review

I have probably mentioned my glee with what seems like an increase in roles for women of a certain age. Last week’s Oscar wins for both Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis filled me with delight, as we saw two women in their 60’s be nominated for the first time and then receiving the awards. I also love that some middle-aged women are being cast in romantic movies as well, with both Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek starring in rom-coms in the past year. So naturally, I was interested to see Vanessa Jopp’s romantic comedy “Faraway,” currently streaming on Netflix.

Zeynep Altin (Naomi Krauss) is a 49 year old woman who feels stuck in her life with her distant husband Ilyas (Adnan Maral) and disaffected daughter Fia (Bahar Balci). When Ilyas misses the funeral for Zeynep’s mother, she decides to head to Croatia to see the property that her mother had kept secret. When she arrives at this picturesque villa overlooking the sea, she finds Josip Crega (Goran Bogan) squatting there. It turns out that he still owns a portion of the land adjacent to the house, and does not like Zeynep’s plan to turn this rustic home into an Airbnb. Can Zeynep find the love that she desperately wants?

This is a lovely film, both visually and narratively. I was blown away by the setting and now feel like I need to add Croatia to my European bucket list. The film is bright and colorful and feels alive because of that. As movies grow continually darker, it is a pleasant surprise to find a film that allows the sun to shine and colors to be as vibrant as possible.

There is also a sparkling story in the midst of this setting. The loss of a parent can often cause a kind of awakening in some, and that is the case for Zeynep. She feels invisible in her life, and as she travels and is forced out of her comfort zone, she realizes that to be seen, she has to be willing to look at herself first. The journey that she goes on certainly follows a formula, but it is told beautifully in that formula, and I felt like it was a very human movie, even amidst all of the hijinks.

The performances in this are quite lovely, particularly that of Krauss. While this is a German movie, it is a multi-language film, including German, Croatian, Turkish, and English. I always encourage people to watch foreign language films with subtitles, simply so you’re able to appreciate what the actors bring to the performance. 

There is something special about a movie that sees older women not just as wives or mothers, but as people in their own right. There is certainly no wrong way to be a woman, but “Faraway” reminds us that sometimes, leaving the confines of our lives to discover who we are can bring us closer to the people we love the most.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on March 18, 2023.