"Ada," from Turkey, is one of those films where characters do extravagant things that you do not believe for a moment. Though the characters invest themselves in the material, it's difficult to ever extract yourself from the thought that the things they do are at the behest of the plot, and not something an actual person would even consider.
Ada (M. Sitare Akbas) is a beautiful young Turkish woman who has just returned to Istanbul after living in Germany for a year. She grew up in Munich, only came to Turkey as a teen, and feels somewhat disconnected from her ancestral homeland. Her family remains in Germany, so it would seem that she's come back to see Erhan (Emre Yetim).
Without anything being spoke about their previous relationship, we sense tension. My impression is that he was smitten by her, she was somewhat ambivalent, and time and distance have rendered things uncertain and awkward. Upon her return she initiates sex with Erhan, but he demurs.
Erhan has a temporary roommate, Mohac (Can Evrenol), who lives with his mother but has frequent spats. Ada is astonished to wake up in the morning to find Mohac lying next to her while she is unclothed. He is forward, seemingly unthreatening, a man who does not understand social barriers.
The three go to Mohac's apartment, and as Ada and Erhan are about to leave to get breakfast, Mohac simply asks her if she would like to stay. The true meaning of his words is unclear: ditch Erhan, be with me. This she does, for reasons that are not apparent to her, or Erhan, or probably even Mohac.
The rest of the movie is a predictable wild ride of passion, regression, anger and rejection. Mohac claims to have eliminated deep romantic ties from his life, and just wants casual sex and good times. Yet he is jealous of Ada's interactions with other men, to the point of delusional paranoia. Meanwhile, she makes the mistake of telling the emotionally unavailable young man that she loves him.
Things go from there.
Writer/director Mirjam Orthen, making her feature debut as a filmmaker, seems to want to construct a torrid romance in the Western style, like "8½ Weeks" or something like it, where sex and love become twisted and confused. The characters should tumble into romantic chaos.
Ada, though, seems to be quite reflective and self-aware, so it's puzzling why this strong young woman would insert herself into situations that she must know can only lead to destructive impulses. Characters who do dumb things for good reasons can be quite sympathetic; characters who are just dumb can only be pitied.