A murderous odalisque's empire crumbles the moment she wins. Timing is everything, darling.
On the eve of the fall of the Ottoman Empire: in the harem of Sultan Abdulhamit II, the odalisque of Italian origin Safiyè dreams of becoming the sultan's first mistress. To achieve her goal, the girl, aided by the eunuch Nadir, is even willing to kill. But when her dream is finally about to come true, her entire world suddenly collapses: the sultan is exiled, the harem is closed, and the odalisques and eunuchs are abandoned to their fate.
Production
Sumptuous harem sets that reek of authentic claustrophobia.
Acting
Marie Gillain's ice-queen descent into irrelevance.
Direction
Özpetek's queer gaze reframes female competition as mutual tragedy.
Director
Ferzan Özpetek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
FR
IT
