Big Man, Little Love

After a police raid shatters a Kurdish neighborhood, a small girl named Hêjar is left alone and terrified, and she finds shelter at the apartment of Rıfat, a widowed retired judge who has kept himself out of politics. Rıfat prefers solitude and routine, but Hêjar's presence unsettles his ordered days and prompts unexpected tenderness. As they form a cautious household, personal histories surface and each begins to loosen the defenses that kept them separate. Rıfat chooses to try to locate surviving relatives and to protect the girl, even as the wider social and political tensions that caused her displacement make any simple solution difficult. It focuses on small daily gestures rather than loud political rhetoric or slogans.

Directed by Handan İpekçi and released in 2001, Big Man, Little Love features Dilan Erçetin and Şükran Güngör among its principal cast, with Füsun Demirel and Yıldız Kenter in supporting roles, notably presenting a small-scale Turkish drama grounded in performance.

Critical response has emphasized the film's human focus and the tentative bond between two very different characters; it holds a 7.0/10 average from 17 votes. Many reviewers praise the restrained performances, steady pacing, and the way small domestic moments reveal deeper social fractures without resorting to melodrama or easy answers.

Within Turkish film circles the movie is often remembered for putting a human face on Kurdish suffering without sensationalism, and for its understated performances. It has been referenced in discussions about representation, empathy, and the responsibilities of storytellers when addressing politically sensitive subjects in regional cinema and education programs too.

No widely reported box office totals are available, suggesting the film had a limited theatrical release and didn't reach commercial audiences. Its profile also grew mainly through critical attention and word of mouth in regional markets rather than large grosses.