OVERLAY REPORT

In the 1964 Turkish film **Dry Summer** (*Susuz Yaz*), the "lead character" can be interpreted as either the antagonist **Osman** (played by Erol Taş), who drives the plot with his greed, or his brother **Hasan** (played by Ulvi Doğan), the film's moral protagonist. Given the narrative arc of "overcoming" a struggle, the most significant journey belongs to **Hasan**. ### The Darkest Moment: Betrayal and the "Living Death" Hasan’s darkest moment is not a single event but a prolonged period of psychological and physical isolation that begins when he is manipulated into taking the fall for a murder committed by his brother. 1. **The Sacrifice:** After Osman kills a neighboring villager during a dispute over water rights, he convinces the younger, more impressionable Hasan to confess to the crime. Osman argues that Hasan, being younger and having no prior record, would receive a lighter sentence. 2. **The Deception:** While Hasan is in prison serving an eight-year sentence, Osman begins a campaign of psychological torture. He intercepts and destroys the letters Hasan writes to his new wife, **Bahar** (Hülya Koçyiğit). 3. **The False Death:** The "darkest point" occurs when Hasan is led to believe—through Osman’s silence and the lack of communication—that his life outside is gone. Simultaneously, Osman tells Bahar that Hasan has died in a prison brawl. This leaves Hasan effectively "dead" to the world and Bahar vulnerable to Osman’s predatory advances and eventual rape. For Hasan, this is a total loss of identity, family, and future. ### How He Overcomes It: The Resurrection and Justice Hasan overcomes this darkness through a combination of external fortune and personal resolve: * **The Amnesty:** Hasan’s physical release comes unexpectedly through a **political amnesty** (a specific historical detail of the 1960s Turkish setting). This acts as a "resurrection," allowing him to return to the village. * **The Discovery of Truth:** Upon his return, Hasan learns the full extent of Osman's depravity—that his brother lied about his death to steal his wife and his land. Rather than collapsing under the weight of this betrayal, Hasan transforms his grief into a righteous fury. * **The Final Confrontation (The Water Battle):** In the film’s climactic sequence, Hasan confronts Osman at the very dam that started the conflict. Despite Osman being armed, Hasan overcomes him in a visceral, symbolic struggle. * **Symbolic Victory:** Hasan kills Osman by drowning him in the spring water that Osman had selfishly dammed. The "overcoming" is both personal and communal: by killing his brother, Hasan not only reclaims Bahar but also breaks the dam, allowing the "blood of the earth" (water) to flow back to the starving villagers. The film concludes with a striking image of **Osman’s corpse floating down the sluice** toward the village he tried to dehydrate, while Hasan stands as a tragic but vindicated figure who has reclaimed his life from the "dryness" of his brother's greed.