Among the most moving movies I've seen this year.
Dormitory from Turkiye.
It was enhanced for me because I've been to Turkiye and have some understanding of their politics and history around the conflict of secularism and Islamism.
The lead boy actors were brilliant, especially the main lead who reminded me of a young Leonardo DiCaprio. The feel of the movie kind of evoked a French art film by Truffaut.
Dormitory (Yurt, 2023) ‘MAMI Film Festival’ Review | High On Films
Religion is a controversial subject to discuss, no matter what era we live in. With extremists taking over the minds of majorities, it has become even more difficult to exercise the freedom to practice faith in one’s own choice. 12-year-old Ahmet (played by Doga Karakas) faces a similar conflict. Set in 1997 Turkey, Nehir Tuna’s ‘Dormitory’ (Yurt) follows Ahmet’s struggle between practicing the faith of his father’s choice and the one that a majority of the population believed in at the time. At the turbulent phase of early adolescence, he grapples with the pressures put upon him by people who think it’s their right to do so.
Dormitory (film) - Wikipedia
The film was described as 'a pleasant surprise, offering the paradoxical story of a teenager caught between religious tensions and explosions of testosterone.