My Father’s Violin Parent Guide

Özlem (Guliza Nisa Uray) lives an eclectic but idyllic life with her father (Selim Edrogan), travelling Istanbul with a group of fellow street musicians. However, when her father dies, Özlem finds herself facing the possibility of life in the foster care system, one that would separate her from all of her father’s familiar friends and her home. Her best hope is that her father’s estranged brother, Mehmet (Engin Altan Düzyatan), will take her in, but Mehmet has his own agenda. He’s a talented (if egotistical) violin soloist, and his career will always come before everything else in his life. If Özlem is going to make it, Mehmet is going to have to seriously evaluate his priorities… and his past.

This film is, primarily, a stereotypical little family drama about a grouchy adult who overcomes a dislike of children to learn the value of love and bonding with a kid. If that’s your thing, fine, but I’m over it as a plot. It’s the same buddy-cop formula every time, with the straight-laced adult being worn down by the endearing but chaotic antics of their little sidekick. But that’s just me.

When it’s not being that saccharine “gee ain’t kids fun” flick, My Father’s Violin is an unintentional piece of advertising for Turkish tourism. I’m not sure I would survive the heat most of the year, but the lingering shots of cobbled streets with the Hagia Sophia looming in the background are certainly enticing. It lends a little more romance to Özlem’s somewhat impoverished life as well, which the plot desperately needs – otherwise, she’s just being rescued from a life of illiterate poverty by a cold and distant uncle.

If you’re willing to put up with either a typically uninspired English dub or subtitles, you could do a lot worse than My Father’s Violin. It barely has any content that parents need to be concerned about, which is an achievement on its own – and a strange one for a film which Netflix has rated TV-14. But I don’t think it’s going to be an easy sell for kids, who are likely a little impatient for such a slow, dramatic film. And that’s assuming they can keep up with the subtitles.