Start the week with a film: In ‘Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite’, innocence and freedom in a jail

Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite has the kind of shiny-eyed, soft-cheeked and bird-voiced child that you want to adopt right away. Indeed, the adorable Baris – named after a Turkish rock star – has many claimants.

Baris (Ozan Bilen) is lodged at a jail in Ankara along with his mother. His father has stopped visiting them, which makes the boy sad on occasion. But he is compensated many times over by the affection shown by the other inmates, especially the political prisoner Inci (Nur Surer).

Baris is always running after Inci. She patiently addresses his endless questions, explains the difference between a bird and a pater kite and hugs him ever so often. Ours is a love story, Inci’s voiceover says, and she isn’t kidding.

Tunc Basaran’s Turkish production, made in 1989, was restored by MUBI, the arthouse cinema company founded by Turkish-American businessman Efe Cakarel. Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite is available on MUBI in India in the boxy 4:3 aspect ratio, which, depending on its usage, can invoke nostalgia or claustrophobia.

In this movie, the framing style is strikingly used to portray a world that is circumscribed but also filled with restless movement. Basaran’s script is based on Feride Cicekglu’s memoir of her time spent behind bars....

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