Turkish Netflix Originals lately have been about some decent movies and television shows. A lot of them showcase the local culture of the country, which many aren’t aware of. 10 Days of a Good Man, which was released earlier this year in March, managed to grab the attention of the audience. The sequel to this film is set to release on August 18, 2023, and therefore, we would like to take the readers through this article to understand what happened in the first film and why Sadik was the good man.
Spoilers Ahead
10 Days of a Good Man begins with a rather disturbing scene of a murder carried out by two people wearing costumes. Two others get rid of the body, but they find a murder weapon. The story takes us to Sadik, who is an ex-attorney turned private investigator. He has been asked by his long-time friend Maide to look for Tevfik, the son of her babysitter, who has been missing for over a month. It is assumed right from the start that Tevfik must be dead. The first presumption is that Tevfik was the one who got murdered, as shown in the prologue by two people. The movie begins as a whodunnit but soon becomes a story about various nexuses that Tevfik was part of. He was also a wanted man among two powerful groups, which makes the premise interesting for Sadik. The boy is not as innocent as his mother describes. He was involved in some murky dealings. All Maide knew was that Tevfik was assisting a celebrity hairdresser.
As Sadik digs deep into what Tevfik was up to, he comes to know of a huge racket involving prostitution, human trafficking, slavery, and illegal organ trading that plagued the city. Tevfik was one of the leading members of the group carrying out these illegal activities. Sadik assumed that one of the deals involving Tevfik might have gone wrong, which led to his death. Sadik is approached by a gangster named Sir, who is also looking for the missing boy. He approaches Sadik, intending to acquire information about Tevfik. So far, Sadik has learned that Tevfik is bad news, for he is hearing only troubling stories about him. The narrative so far in the film is easy to grasp. There are plenty of characters in 10 Days of a Good Man that might be difficult to keep up with.
So far, he is called the good man because he is known to go out of his way to help anybody he is close to. Tevfik’s sister, Hatice, aka Pinar, is the first person in the film to give him this term of endearment. Pinar seems like a spoiled brat at first, but she slowly becomes an asset to Sadik’s investigation. He was quick to find out that Pinar was having an affair with her employer’s husband, Macit. The movie talks about the kind of opulence kids love and demand. There is also a subplot that sheds light on older men having relationships with underage girls without worrying about the legal consequences of it. Pinar offers to give Sadik her brother’s phone in exchange for money.
Another subplot in the film involves Sadik and Fatos, his downstairs neighbor, who is a sex worker. He helps her just in time to avoid getting evicted from the apartment she lives in. The two eventually fall in love. Fatos quits her job because Sadik loves her and proposes marriage. Sadik turns out to be a kind hearted man. He looked beyond Fatos’ profession and made her a crucial part of his life. That is the definition of the good man.
Through Tevfik’s phone, he comes across incriminating evidence about Sir and Tevfik’s relationship. He also comes across another set of evidence against the two people in costume, which was shown at the beginning of the film. Tevfik is a man on the run, and there is a possibility that the evidence in his phone could be the reason behind his death as well. Sadik still believes Tevfik has been murdered. The narrative from here on is confusing, which makes this film a dull experience.
Sadik is approached by Rezzan, his ex-wife, to help her get out of a trial. Rezzan, just like Sadik, is an attorney at law, and he’s had a painful history with her. She had convinced him to take the fall for her malpractices, which led to him losing his license to practice. This forced him to eventually become a private investigator. The couple had a bitter divorce, but Rezzan comes back asking for the same favor, hoping the good man that she was married to will help her again. Rezzan is toxic and selfish to expect the same man to spend the rest of his life behind bars just because she cannot afford to. The film tightly explores the manipulation of this woman.
Using all the evidence he gathers using Pinar, Sadik soon learns that Tevfik is a pimp and a conman who stole money from Sir. He also blackmailed the two people in costume, who happened to be twins. They loved to indulge in a weird kind of pleasure. Tevfik also sold his sister to Maide’s husband. The boy was always in need of money, and he carried out all kinds of dirty and morally wrong things to get it.
Despite a shaky screenplay, the climax is what makes the film interesting to watch. It turns out Tevfik is alive and hiding away with his colleague’s widow in the hope of getting some inheritance money from her. Tevfik seems to have no guilt about carrying out all kinds of nefarious activities. There is no clue so far regarding what he will do with the money he has acquired. Tevfik is left at the mercy of the twins he blackmailed and Sir. The gangster is informed about the twins holding Tevfik hostage at their home. The home is set on fire by the gangster and his men. It is implied that Tevfik and the twins died in the arson. Sadik turns out to be smart and intelligent. He managed to catch a lot of loopholes in the stories he heard from various people, including Tevfik’s mother’s statement. He also gives away a huge chunk of money to Pinar so that she can live independently, just like she always wanted. Sadik solved the case in nine days. The tenth day was dedicated to Sadik sternly saying no to Rezzan. He changes his overall body language towards this woman he once loved. He claims that he does not believe in love but only in justice. The good man she was trying to tap into has gone.
Sadik saving desperate women is the theme of the film. The heroism showcased by him is the reason behind his good-man reputation, even though he refused to help his ex-wife. This message of women wanting men to save them is problematic because it emphasizes the female sex as weaker, and they constantly need protection from men. They can acquire independence only through men in their lives, which is an old-school belief that should not be promoted on platforms like Netflix. As 10 Days of a Bad Man is set to release, we hope to see a better screenplay coupled with a message that is not questionable.
