Yellow Letters Film Review: Art Is Political

Yellow Letters is a fierce story of political rebellion that demonstrates the raw power of art and self-expression.

The result is a kind of numbness toward public life that lets injustice slip by unnoticed. Yellow Letters pushes back against that mindset, arguing that all art is inherently political and carries a meaning that should not be repressed. No effort to censor or silence it can fully extinguish the defiance that artistic expression makes possible.

Yellow Letters delves deep into the dangers of political suppression, showcasing just how much somebody’s life can degrade and fall apart when they’re forced to push their beliefs deep down and never let them be heard. The film centers around Derya (Özgü Namal) and Aziz (Tansu Biçer), a married couple who is forced to flee their city after a theater performance of theirs is noticed for being politically radical. As their marriage crumbles under the weight of their artistic and political suppression, the film explores the sacrifices that people are forced to make in order to conform and live a comfortable life.

Through its story of displacement and repression, Yellow Letters reaches a potent conclusion about how political injustice manages to survive in the face of genuinely good, moral people who want to bring it down. And crucially, the road to reach that conclusion is equally thrilling and compelling. This isn’t just a film that has a clear thesis and wants to present it to an audience, but rather a showcase of great writing, acting, and direction where the deeper message is merely a catalyst.

Director İlker Çatak first broke onto the scene with his highly acclaimed 2024 drama The Teachers’ Lounge, and his latest project bears some undeniable similarities. Not only does he bring the same tense filmmaking and engaging character development to Yellow Letters, but the films also explore similar ideas of systemic oppression and the personal cost of trying to bring down an unfair system.

Namal and Biçer are the centerpieces of this story, and both actors deliver wholly compelling performances that capture the anger, frustration, and eventual acquiescence of a family choosing its own safety over its values. The reason Yellow Letters’ message lands so effectively is because Çatak always uses his characters as mouthpieces to explore ideas rather than simply present them to the audience and hope they’ll agree. He makes us feel their pain, share their anxieties, and ultimately reach their same conclusions without feeling guided too strongly.

Unfortunately, Yellow Letters does suffer from some noticeable pacing issues in the second half that cause it to stumble just before the finish line, testing the audience’s patience as the momentum of the first half gradually fizzles out. This is clearly intentional in part, as the focus of the story drifts from political rebellion to a more grounded, methodical deconstruction of family values – but that doesn’t make it any easier to palate. The film could also benefit from a clearer exposition of the political turmoil that dictates so much of these characters’ lives; we’re told that they’re being punished for speaking out, but there’s very little description of what they’re speaking out against or why they feel compelled to beyond mere virtue.

Still, Yellow Letters is a very compelling and thought-provoking story that comes to life through bold, technically proficient filmmaking and brilliant lead performances. The screenplay admittedly feels like it could have reached new heights with deeper revisions and a steadier pace, but it’s hard to complain about the product that does exist.

Yellow Letters premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13-22, 2026. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews and our list of 20 films to watch at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival!