The camera follows behind a young man who is led to a truck. He is promptly wrapped in plastic to the point that he almost looks like he is being suffocated. Moments later, a hole is ripped by his mouth to enable him to breathe. In the ensuing scene, the young man, still wrapped up, is shown hiding in a fuel tank to cross the border.
This is how Hisham Zaman's glorious "Before Snowfall" initiates. Its lead character Siyar (Abdullah Taher) will eventually break out of the wrap and clean himself from the petroleum, but he will forever be trapped in a cycle of cultural traditions.
Moments after Siyar cleans himself off, he starts to walk a long road and asks for the directions to Istanbul. When he is asked why he is going there, he responds that he must kill his sister. Moments after revealing the shocking twist, the story jumps back in time to display the transgression that his sister has made to earn her the sentence. Nermin (Bahar Ozen), Siyar's older sister, has fled from an arranged marriage with her lover. Out of respect for the groom's pride, Siyar must either bring his sister back or kill her.
In order to truly understand the context of this situation, one must understand that Siyar is a teenager. His father has died and he has been thrust in the patriarchal role of his Kurdish family. Despite his undeveloped physical and emotional maturity, Siyar is forced to engage in the traditions that he is not ready for. Before the opening credits roll, the audience hears a brief exchange between the protagonist and his mother in which she asks why he isn't sleeping; he responds that he is thinking. The film will eventually return to this scene and in that moment, the viewer realizes that Siyar is thinking about the implications of his cultural responsibility. He knows that this adventure will not end well for anyone; he will have to kill his sister or force her to join in an unhappy union. In the process, he will essentially destroy his relationship with her forever.
The adventure takes a number of twists and turns and along the way Siyar meets Evin (Suzan Ilir), an orphan that lives on the streets in poverty. Despite initial confrontations, the two form a bond that slowly grows into a tender love story. This subplot influences Siyar's emotional maturity and also makes him question his moral affiliations. In one scene, he makes a choice that ultimately puts his life in peril; however his choice comes from a desire to protect his newfound companion. Zaman tastefully portrays the budding romance without ever indulging in saccharine gestures; he understands that these two characters are little more than children and that they are still in an age of emotional exploration where certain behaviors are not necessarily present.
Taher delivers a phenomenal turn as the young protagonist. He wears goofy bangs early on and has a strange gait that emphasizes his early adolescence. He has a hard stare that seems expressionless but is more of a protective measure. As his character matures, the hair grows into a more natural look and his awkward walk disappears. His emotional outbursts are more consistent and there are even hints of smiles that were absent in the early portions of the film.
Ilir is a perfect counterpoint to Taher. Like him she seems shy, but her face emits a longing and tenderness that makes her empathetic. Her hushed voice adds to this sense of frailty. In one scene, Ilir bawls uncontrollably in heart-breaking display after learning that her entire conception of her world is false. As with Siyar's development, Zaman does a wondrous job of portraying the character's arc through her clothing and look. When Evin is first introduced to the viewer, she looks like a boy; in fact the viewer believes that she is one. However, as the relationship with Siyar develops, the character gets rid of her hat and starts to wear feminine clothing. In the final scenes she is wearing a dress as opposed to the ragged jeans she used at the start.
Aesthetically this film follows a similar arc. At the start of the story, the viewer is in the warm, sunny world of Kurdistan. However, as Siyar and Evin get closer to his sister, they traverse frigid locations that emphasize the increasingly ominous world they are entering. More importantly, the contrast between the hot and cold stress the cultural differences between the two worlds that Siyar has engaged with.
The film reaches its inevitable climax and Zaman does not shy away from his initial thesis. The film is ultimately a damning portrayal of the unflinching cultural traditions that condemn people into lives that they are not ready to live. The final scene of the film provides a tremendous contrast its immediate predecessor but its lively tone could not be more repulsive for the viewer.
"Before Snowfall" is a riveting coming-of-age journey that informs as it rivets with strong balance that few other films achieve. The two lead performances carry the film wondrously in a tale of two lost souls filling the voids of their respective loneliness.