Proceedings of the 24th International Academic Conference, Barcelona

TWO ORIENTAL IMAGES OF ISTANBUL: ROBBE-GRILLET’S \

ASLI DALDAL

Abstract:

This paper aims at comparing Alain Robbe-Grillet’s L’Immortelle (1963) and Metin Erksan’s Time To Love (1966) in terms of their reflection of Istanbul that occupies a central place within the plots of both films. While the image they develop for the city is basically an “Oriental image” that excludes the documentary, realistic aspects, their orientalism diverge greatly. Erksan wishes to retreat from the Westernized modern life of Istanbul and thus sublimates old Eastern philosophical traditions to find some Platonic “truthfulness” within the old imperial city (Dersaadet). Grillet, on the other hand, in search for the immortal passion and exoticism, recreates the Oriental “myth” of Istanbul within a modernist guise. The parallel depiction of female heroines and urban space in both films also reflect the “self-reflexive” relation between the “male gaze” and the reconstruction of the orientalist discourse through female subjectivity.

Keywords: Cinema Studies, Istanbul Studies, Orientalism,

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2016.024.028

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