In extreme contrast to the TRT World documentary, I watched The Club (Kulüp) (2021). The Club is a Turkish historical drama series with elements of a family saga, musical moments, and telenovela-style melodrama. These aspects make it both a period piece and an emotional narrative produced by Netflix, set in 1950s Istanbul. It was created by Zeynep Günay Tan and features an ensemble cast led by Gökçe Bahadır as Matilda, a Sephardic Jewish woman freshly released from prison (Lior, 2021). The series follows Matilda’s struggle to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Rasel, while working at a nightclub called “Club Istanbul.” The Club has been praised for its rich portrayal of Sephardic Jewish culture, using details such as Ladino songs, Shabbat customs, and emotional depictions of Jewish life in 20th-century Istanbul, making it a unique exploration of a lesser-seen part of Turkish history. The production features a diverse cast and has been well-received, with high ratings and positive reviews for its historical accuracy and compelling storytelling (Lior, 2021).
I watched Season 1, Episode 1, an incredible introduction to the complex series. The episode begins with a young Matilda dropping a gun after shooting an unknown person. She locks a door, and the camera shows a heart carved in the door with “M + M” in the center. She walked away from the scene, and I was immediately hooked, wondering what her story is. The show fast-forwards seventeen years later to a large group of women sitting around a radio in a prison bunker. The broadcaster is speaking about a vote for pardoning those convicted of espionage and communism. Everyone cheers when they find they have been granted a pardon. We are finally introduced to the woman from the introduction, Matilda, as she is informed of the pardon and says a Jewish prayer. A free Matilda walks through the busy streets of Istanbul and arrives at her lawyer, Monsieur Davit’s home. She wants to go to Israel and claims to have no family, but Davit gives her a photo of her daughter, Rasel. Matilda leaves to stay at a hostel, and we see her Israeli identification before she rips up the photo of her daughter, and we watch the shredded paper slowly fall out the window.
We move to Rasel, gossiping to her friend Tasula at the orphanage. Tasula wanted Rasel to find the chauffeur she has been seeing, Ismet, and give him a letter. The show flashes back and forth between the girl’s conversation and the interaction between Rasel and Ismet. Ismet tells Rasel not to trust him, but she gets in his car anyway. Later that night, they pulled into a dark parking lot, and Ismet told Rasel he liked her more than Tasula. He also tells her that he named his car Pakize and wipes off a mole she had drawn on her face, referencing Marilyn Monroe’s fame at the time. In the present time, Rasel lies to Tasula that she gave Ismet the letter, but he did not care because he left her for a blonde woman named Pakize. We flashback to Rasel getting out of Ismet’s car and throwing the letter in the trash. Rasel and Tasula break into Club Istanbul because Tasula works there and wants to get her ID from the manager’s desk. Tasula finds her ID, but Rasel is caught trying to steal cigarettes and alcohol by a club employee. She smashes a bottle on his head but does not escape.
In the next scene, Matilda walks by a crowd standing in front of a store window watching the newly invented TV. She does not know what a TV is. Matilda walks to the subway and walks by one of the club managers, Ali, and five male immigrants he has hired. The camera follows Ali to the club, where they watch a musician named Selim get thrown out of the club.
Matilda returned to Davit’s house to get travel papers to go to Israel, but Davit is not there. The girl at the door tells Matilda (not knowing that she is Rasel’s mother) that Davit went to the police station because Rasel assaulted a Muslim employee of Club Istanbul.
Back at the club, the manager, Celibi, warns the club employee who caught Rasel not to tell the club owner, Orhan. Celebi also tells Ali what happened with Rasel and again shows his fear of Orhan finding out. Ali tells the immigrant men they will be washing the floor, and then we see a woman singing opera in the dressing room of the club. Finally, we meet the club owner, Orhan. He is speaking to a man named Simon and tells him to “take Sevim tomorrow and go to the Bosporus. It’s turbot season.” We find out that Sevim is the female singer, and Simon is her agent. Orhan threatens to fire Sevim, but Simon reminds him of his long overdue bank loans. Orhan says that he does not stand for blackmail, and Simon leaves.
The musician, Selim (not to be confused with Sevim), returns to the club and pretends to be the police to get in. He finds Orhan and tells him the club is boring and he can help him. Selim says he will write songs about “alafranga and alaturca lovers,” terms that originated in the Ottoman Empire to describe Western style and Ottoman-Turkish style (Dorn, 1991). He tells Orhan that with his Turkish songs, he will tell the story of the struggle between the East and West, love and change, and their home of Turkey, drawing all the lovers to Club Istanbul.
Matilda arrives at the police station, where Davit learns that the club is not pressing charges against Rasel. Matilda only asks for her papers to go to Israel. Celibi, arrives and introduces himself to Matilda and seems entranced by her. He then suddenly says that he changed his mind, will be pressing charges, and that he will see them in court. In the cell, Rasel screams and bangs on the gates. Davit stands on the other side while Matilda watches and cries from behind the staircase. Davit tells Rasel that he should have sent her to Israel and that he will no longer put up with her mischief. Davit leaves, and Matilda doesn’t move. She is conflicted about whether to help the troubled daughter she abandoned. She eventually tells a policeman that she is Rasel’s mother and asks for the address of the man who pressed charges.
Back at the club, the man at the front desk tells Celibi that the police have been speaking with Orhan for an hour. Celibi, not knowing that the man talking to Orhan is really just Selim, runs off looking worried. The man at the desk curses at Celibi, implying that Celibi is a shady guy. Celibi enters Orhan’s office, and Orhan introduces Selim as their new headline act and says he has fired Sevim. Celibi voices his concerns about having a male headliner, but Orhan defends Selim. Celibi goes to his own office, where he finds Matilda. Matilda offers to reimburse him if he drops the charges, but he refuses. He asks Matilda where she was while her daughter was in an orphanage. She declines the question, and he tells her that she will never be able to pay him for the damage she has caused. He says he will drop the charges if she signs a blank check and works at the club since she can’t get a job as an ex-convict. She is confused and asks how he knows that. Celibi threatens her again but does not give her any more information.
Matilda runs outside, pulls out her crumpled Israeli ID, and flashes back to a younger version of herself being charged, pleading guilty in court and being charged with murder. Back in real time, she is wearing the same coat and shoes as 17 years prior. Selim is beside her, smoking a cigarette, and notices that her shoes are from the 1941 Chanel collection. He lights a cigarette for her, tells her about his performance anxiety, and invites her to his debut show. He notices the Israel ID and says, “I would do anything to get on that ship and get out of here,” but notices her sadness and lightens his mood a bit by singing the song “Matilda.”
Back in the club, Matilda gives Celibi her ID papers, and he drops the charges against Rasel. A released Rasel walks home with Davit’s son but ditches him and hops on a bus. Celibi introduces Matilda to her job doing laundry, and they hear Selim singing. Everyone gathers to watch, and Orhan looks satisfied. Selim points at Matilda in a show of comradery while singing, but Celibi pushes her away. We see Matilda doing laundry and Celibi looking at a photo he keeps in his desk of a young Matilda smiling with men and women standing around her under a sign that says “Aseo Maritime Shipping.” One man in the picture resembles Celibi. Selim finishes his song, and everyone claps. This an extremely engaging end to the first episode, as it left me wondering who Celibi is and reminded me of Matilda’s mysterious past.
In the final scene of the first episode, Matilda enters the orphanage and flashes back to her time in prison when she gave her baby to Davit with a small necklace. She did not want to, but she had no choice. In real-time, Matilda enters Rasel’s room in the orphanage and introduces herself. Rasel smiles, and a loud, ticking clock sounds before the episode ends.
Despite so many characters being introduced in one episode, the creator successfully told a little bit of each person’s compelling story, leaving me intrigued with many questions wondering what will happen next. I really enjoyed the show and plan on watching the rest of it on my own time. I enjoyed the subtle historical signifiers that were not necessary, like the window TV and the Marilyn Monroe mole. Netflix did a great job at telling the story of Turkish history that is not shown on Turkish-funded broadcasting networks due to their severed relationship with Israel and complex history with Greece (Geybullayeva, 2021). The quality, the costumes, the music, the backgrounds, and the acting are incredible, and it feels like the show transports you back in time. Most of the show is spoken in Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, a romance language spoken by Sephardic Jews. (Geybullayeva, 2021) Turkish, Greek, French, and English are also spoken in the show; all languages historically spoken in Turkey have been losing relevance due to Turkish Constitutional law restricting the education of non-native languages (Kaya, 2015).