‘Salvation’ Review: The Roots of Violence Are Explored in Emin Alper’s Tense, Atmosphere Study of a Massacre

How do you justify the unjustifiable? How do you get to the point where you feel morally in the right while you slaughter unarmed men, women and children? These are the questions director Emin Alper seeks to explore in “Salvation,” a film notionally about the longtail fallout from a land dispute, but more elementally about […] Home Film Reviews Feb 15, 2026 6:45am PT ‘Salvation’ Review: The Roots of Violence Are Explored in Emin Alper’s Tense, Atmosphere Study of a Massacre The Turkish director returns to the Berlin competition with a timely exploration of an unspeakable atrocity, motivated by territorialism and religious fervor. By Catherine Bray Plus Icon Catherine Bray @catherinebray Latest ‘Sanatorium’ Review: Irish Filmmaker Provides a Striking Glimpse Inside a Ukrainian Health Facility 2 months ago ‘Wildcat’ Review: Kate Beckinsale Stars in a Spirited Guy Ritchie Knockoff That Looks Cheap but Mostly Entertains 3 months ago ‘Kika’ Review: A Quietly Radical Sex-Work Drama Turns Survival Into Subversive Self-Reinvention 4 months ago See All Courtesy of Liman Film How do you justify the unjustifiable? How do you get to the point where you feel morally in the right while you slaughter unarmed men, women and children? These are the questions director Emin Alper seeks to explore in “Salvation,” a film notionally about the longtail fallout from a land dispute, but more elementally about how violence happens. Set in a Turkish village high in the mountains, the director’s fifth film — and his first since the 2022’s Cannes Un Certain Regard entry “Burning Days” — follows the trajectory of Mesut (an excellent and tragically believable Caner Cı̇ndoruk), whose personal insecurities set him on a path leading to a massacre.Mesut has always played second fiddle to his handsome younger brother, Sheikh Ferit (Feyyaz Duman). Their grandfather was an important man, seen by some as a savior of their village. He was their Sheikh, a local cultural and religious leader, and he passed this status on, not, as might have been expected, to the older brother, but to the younger. Meanwhile, Mesut’s wife is pregnant with twins and he is troubled by anxious dreams and thoughts concerning her sexual life. In the village, men mutter about their land being taken over by outsiders.Psychologically, then, Mesut is on the back foot. Sexual jealousy, sibling rivalry and a broader feeling of impotence in the face of potential threats from outside combine in a potent brew that, lacking the ear of a good therapist, isn’t going to turn out well for anyone. That’s not to say that Alper falls into the fallacy of laying everything that subsequently happens at one man’s door: On the contrary, this is a smart study of a community.Cı̇ndoruk gives a nimble performance as Mesut: At first, he plays a kind of low-status grudge-bearer, the sort of person who might be characterized as a boot-licker if there were any boots around that he deemed worthy of licking. Into this vacuum of leadership, as he perceives it, some chosen one must surely arrive. Lo and behold, he realizes it is he himself who must be reluctantly entrusted with the mission to protect his people. As he convinces others of his cause, he blossoms, and we see in his manner and bearing a man stretching himself out and becoming accustomed to power.One of “Salvation’s” greatest strengths is in capturing a subjective sense of the threat that the villagers collectively feel themselves to be facing. The signs, portents and omens come thick and fast, almost to the point of caricature: a burned field, uncanny storms, a sleepwalking child, a pair of identical twin girls herding goats, and theoretical religious discussions of the possibility of having confused the roles of Cain and Abel. The mood is one of permanent unease, with all the characters bubbling away together in a melting pot of distrust. Related Stories Inside the Oscars Luncheon: Ryan Coogler’s Big Moment, a Buckley–Byrne Hug, and Emma Stone and Timothée Chalamet Holding It Down at Table 3