‘What Remains’ follows Elif, a blocked poet, and Mehmet, an unemployed music teacher, as their creative and personal frustrations push their relationship towards separation. The Turkish drama explores how artists can lose their sense of purpose while trying to balance family life, work and creative ambition, and how reconnecting with their origins may offer a way forward.

After Elif leaves Istanbul, Mehmet cares for their son and returns to his hometown when his dying father summons him, while Elif travels to her grandparents’ remote village. The review praises Yesim Ustaoglu’s restrained direction, evocative Turkish landscapes and strong performances, though it finds the film’s slow pace and minimalist, inward-looking conflicts unlikely to appeal to wider audiences.