Three Monkeys 2009

A tense, modern family drama that unravels as small missteps snowball into deep, widening lies. The story unfolds in Istanbul, beginning with a wealthy businessman named Servet who campaigns in the rain, driving alone at night, fighting sleep, and suddenly striking a pedestrian in the middle of the road. In the moment of panic, he notices another car stop briefly with a couple inside and then drive away, leaving him to face the aftermath alone. His fear about the potential public exposure of the accident pushes him to a stark choice: he asks Eyüp, his steady driver, to take the blame and serve the prison sentence that would almost certainly end Servet’s political career. He promises Eyüp a lump sum after release and continued salary for Eyüp’s family during Eyüp’s time behind bars. Eyüp agrees, and the uneasy bargain is struck.

Eyüp, who lives with his wife and son in the poor coastal neighborhood of Yedikule near the railroad tracks, is roused from sleep by a late-night phone call from Servet. The two men meet, Servet trembling with the shock of what happened, and Eyüp accepts the deal with a mix of resignation and determination to protect his own loved ones. As the months slip by, a sense of distance settles into the family’s life. Their son, İsmail, struggles with academic tests and disappointments, repeatedly failing his college entrance exam. Hacer, Eyüp’s wife who works as a kitchen assistant, grows anxious about İsmail’s associations and his injuries from street altercations, urging him to find work and stability. In a moment of desperation, İsmail hints at driving kids between home and school, but the family cannot afford a car, so he asks his mother to push Servet for an advance without telling Eyüp. Hacer meets Servet at his office after an election that does not go his way, and she asks for money. When she leaves, Servet offers her a ride back home and she reluctantly accepts.

The web tightens further as more time passes. İsmail learns that his mother is involved with Servet, but he keeps the knowledge to himself. Eyüp serves nine months in prison and returns home to a house where something feels off. Hacer, meanwhile, is now in love with Servet and wishes to continue the affair, but Servet makes it clear that he does not intend to pursue it further. One night, both Eyüp and Hacer are summoned to a police station and told that Servet has been murdered. In the interrogation room, Eyüp discovers the truth about Hacer’s affair, and Eyüp denies knowing anything about the crime. The discovery is a blow that shifts the family’s already fragile balance.

İsmail steps forward and confesses to his mother that he killed Servet, a revelation that shifts Eyüp’s focus from anger to a measured, searching calm. He finds solace in a mosque, seeking guidance in a place of quiet reflection. From there, he travels to a tiny tea house where a poor man, Bayram, works and sleeps, a figure who embodies the same precarious existence that marks Eyüp’s world. Eyüp makes the same offer Servet had made to him—propose that Bayram take the blame for the crime, promising a future that could stabilize a life that has already been broken and strained by lies, debt, and fear.

This film traces how a seemingly practical choice to shield a family can spiral into ethical compromises that redraw loyalties, trust, and identity. It paints a portrait of a neighborhood where the line between right and wrong is blurred by pressure, need, and the hope for a better life, leaving the audience to weigh the costs of each decision. Throughout, the narrative keeps a careful, grounded tone, avoiding sensationalism while illuminating the quiet weight of consequences that follow when desperation pushes people to make deals they never imagined they would make.