A Regular Woman

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A Regular Woman

7.6

/10

2842 rated

2019•1 h 30 m•Germany

Aynur, a German woman of Kurdish-Turkish descent, struggles for a free, self-determined life in the face of her family's opposition. Her brothers insult and threaten her until she finally reports her oldest brother to the police.

Crime

Drama

Recommended

Reviews

شوشه Xh

30/12/2025 15:35

xxx

Marwan Younis

15/08/2025 16:41

The enemies of religion have corrupted Islam so much with lies that a woman's life has become more worthless than a dog in the street, what a pity. There is no justice in so-called Muslim countries. And it never will be. You should definitely watch. An exemplary movie.

Monther

15/08/2025 16:41

"Nur eine frau" is a real womens movie. It was made by a female director (Sherry Hormann), shot by a female cinematographer (Judith Kaufmann) and has a subject (honor killing) with mostly female victims. At the beginning of the film the dead of the lead character is showed using archive material, so there is no real tension in the usual sense of the word. Nevertheless the movie aroused different emotion in me. The first emotion was disbelief. Daughter Aynur (Almila Bagriacik), just 16 years old, is forced into a marriage by the Surucu family. When the husband turns out to be violent and the, meanwhile pregnant, Aynur flees back to her family she is anything but welcome. Did she do everything her husband ordered her to do? Did she please him enough in bed? No wonder Aynur leaves the house and starts living on her own, That is the moment when the trouble really starts, because she is threatening the honor of the family. In comparison with the Surucu family the five sisters in "Mustang" (2015, Deniz Gamze Erguven) are nearly living in a liberal family! Is this not a bit overdone? Is this not a caricuture? The answer is in the first place that the story is based on real facts. In the second place it is hard to make a "nuanced" film about such a horrible subject as honor killing. Of course not all Muslim families are like this, but this is shown in the film. The oldest brother is much more enlighted than his younger brothers. Finally, although I don't know the precise statistics, it is clear that the case of Aynur does not stand alone. In this context I would like to call attention to the various possible meanings of the title "Nur eine frau". "Nur" can be translated as "only" and stands for the low status of a woman in the fundamentalist version of the Muslim religion the Surucu family is adhering to. "Eine" can be translated as "one" and is meant to underline that Aynur is just an example is of a much broader problem. After the disbelief came the curiosity (from the moment that Aynur left home until she was killed). What was behind the fiercely hatred of the brothers (except the oldest one)? It was obvious that family was more important for them than the individual. But why was the responsibilty to keep the family honor high so unilaterally assigned to women? Was the hatred of the brothers purely religiously motivated or was it also a struggle to hold on to the power that men are in charge just because they are men and not because of their own merits? Why didn't the women in the family (mother and sisters) support Aynur? Why didn't Aynur see the danger, although she was warned by her oldest (and enlighted) brother? This middle part of the movie raised many questions without giving a direct answer. Perhaps it is the most interesting part of the movie. The end of the film made me very mad. The way the assassination of Aynur is planned within the family and celebrated when it is done. If you are convinced that killing your sister is nothing less than your religious duty, just bear the consequences. In stead of this the girlfriend of the murderer is put under pressure to produce a false alibi. She doesn't do this, after which she has to go undercover. All in all the Surucu family is in my opinion not some disadvantaged family with retarded religious beliefs but operated more like a criminal organisation. The emotions described above made it very difficult to assess the quality of the film. The choice of the subject is courageous. The middle part, raising more questions than giving answers was for me the most interesting. Rauand Taleb, playing the youngest brother / murderer, did a very good job. He really scared me with the intensity of his hatred.

Mustapha Njie

15/08/2025 16:41

The film gives a lot of emotions. And its status of real fact reflection gives to its message an universal value. A great film about faith and about life as tool to become yourself. The story is simple and, in essence, familiar. The film gives only facts . And their consequences. And the performance is real inspired . Portrait of a sacrifice as high price of love. The love for family and, in same measure, the love for life. Short, a wisedome lesson.

Sainabou❤❤

15/08/2025 16:41

What does that even mean? Just a woman? Of course you can interpret it yourself, but if you ask me, this is about how a female is being viewed. And not just with a radical islamic family. Don't just get that out of the movie and feed your xenophobic fears and anxieties. No this is a general point that is unfortunately true - in the public eye, be it the media or society itself. See what recently happened to Meghan Markles interview and how it got under scrutiny. Certain individuals not believing what she said ... which is horrible on so many aspects. But back to this, because while I read the general struggle of women, this does specify what it is to be under a very strict rule - or rather rules. How it is to grow up and be part of something radical - something that will not acknowledge you as an individual, but as part of something greater. Something that women are supposed to bend to and behave accordingly to. It is irritating and I hope it does open the eyes of some, what abuse (not just physical, but also) females have to go through. What it does to them - and not all have the strength or the patience to keep fighting against injustices. It is upon all of us to not just look the other way. Like the scene in the bus - everyone minding their business. Which I understand to a degree - people don't know what a fight is about. But when a man hits a woman who obviously is not fighting back ... there is something inherently wrong with that picture ... and while the movie does not linger on it, the point is clear! No one is there to help ... the inevitable end (of a true story, that I was not aware of, but certainly isn't just a single case, but likely has happened to other women ... way too many of them) ... A gripping story that really is able to touch you - and as I said above hopefully gives you some food for thought

Ginafine

15/08/2025 16:41

It could have been great, the first person narrative after the crime compromised the storytelling

Ama'Dou Bà

15/08/2025 16:41

A movie about the fate of a woman, who leaves islam. Very moral and unfortunately true.

Brian Colby🇬🇭

15/08/2025 16:41

Sibel Kekilli played a character inspired by Sürücü in the 2010 movie "When we leave", which was infinitely better than this one. That film's director Feo Aladag is herself of migrant origin, whereas Sherry Hormann is German and mostly known for television and romantic comedies. This explains the distinct lack of subtlety. "A regular Woman" has an artificial feel, whereas "When we leave" is a deep psychological view of a woman who has to go through such an ordeal. Kekilli's performance is the strongest of her career - she was cast for "Game of Thrones" after that - and mirrors her own life (she is of Kurdish origin, and her family cut her loose when she left the house). The actress here lacks charisma and goes through the motions like performing on a high school stage. As someone who lived in Berlin and had many Turkish friends and relationships, I can confirm that everything in this film is factually true. It does, however, leave out the accompanying factors of this situation. For instance, the Kurds are a particularly close-knit community because of their persecution in Turkey; since Kurdish was forbidden in public use, there has been no higher education in that language. That explains why migrant Kurds often appear particularly traditional. Also, religious fanaticism is a way for them to connect to other Sunni Muslim expats who otherwise resent them, like Turkish nationalists. Given that the film does show how indoctrination in German mosques happens, this is a missed opportunity - one of many. All in all, "A Regular Woman" recounts an important story in a lackluster, box-checking way that does not do Hatun Sürücü's legacy justice. There is a German phrase to describe well-meant, but overly zealous and therefore ineffective measures - "Holzhammermethode", using a wooden hammer. It sums up this film quite appropriately.

Stephanie

15/08/2025 16:41

"Nur Eine Frau" (2019 release from Germany; 105 min.) brings the real-life story of Aynur, a German woman of Kurdish-Muslim descent. As the movie opens, it is "2005" and we see footage of a slain body on the street as the voice-over starts her story: "That is me, killed by my brother". We then go to "May, 1998", when then-16 yr. old Aynur is sent to Turkey where she is married off to her cousin (not her choice obviously). The marriage is a disaster and we then go to "April, 1999" as Aynur, highly pregnant at this point, flees Turkey and arrives back in Berlin to live with her family (parents, 4 brothers, 4 sisters). At this point we are 10 min. into the movie. Couple of comments: this is the latest film from American-German writer-director Sherry Hormann. Here she brings us the gut-wrenching account of an honor killing that will make your head shake in disgust and your blood boil. The hate that simmers in Aynur's family is simply incomprehensible to us Westerns. Even though Aynur's parents moved to Germany decades ago, there isn't the slightest integration into German society after all this time. Hisses one of the brothers at one point: "Aynur's become German", with a level of disdain that is all too clear. PLEASE NOTE: The movie's original German title "Nur Eine Frau" has been inexplicably mistranslated into "A Regular Woman", which completely misses the point. At one point, the movie's voice-over (the Aynur character) comments that "I deserved to die, because I'm merely a woman" ("Ich habe es verdient zu sterben, weil ich nur eine Frau bin"). In other words: the correct movie title in English is the dismissive "Merely a Woman" or "Just a Woman", not "A Regular Woman"!! Also please note that the movie's running time is listed incorrectly at 90 min. It is actually about 105 min. (give or take a few). The movie's no-star cast is outstanding, from the Anyur character (played by Almila Bagriacik) on down. I'm not sure when or where "Nur Eine Frau" premiered. But I can tell you that it opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and this marked the first time that I saw a movie in the theater since the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March, 3 1/2 months ago. The theater imposed strict limits on where to sit, respecting social distancing. Not that it mattered, as the Friday early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening (I was literally the only person in the theater). If you are in the mood for a tough movie exposing the horrible realities of so-called honor killings, I'd recommend you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on Amazon Instant Video, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

lasizwe

15/08/2025 16:41

Times are changing and in countries like Turkey women have more rights than many Europeans know. Atatürk separated religion from the state, turning his back on the ancient way of life in the Arab world. The Turks do not live like the people in the Arab countries, where women are not allowed to speak and are worth nothing. Women in Turkey are allowed to do everything that men do. Education, work and everything else too. You have a free opinion and live in no dictatorship. The women live freely without pressure and coercion and from a certain age they can decide for themselves what they make of their lives. Even if some families bring them up in a religious way, women are allowed to decide for themselves about their lives from the age of majority according to the law. In the Arab countries it looks the same as in the film.