Season 1 Review
Faraway, the Netflix original multilingual rom-com directed by Vanessa Jopp, takes its sad protagonist on an unexpected journey of self-love and romance.
Zeynep (Naomi Krauss) is tired, works hard at home and is not appreciated by her husband (Adnan Maral) and daughter (Bahar Balci). Having no support from her family after her mother’s death, Zeynep decides that she needs time for herself. He flees to the island of Croatia, the place where his mother was born and the house that Zeinabi left in her will.
There, Zeynep sees that her previous owner, Josip (Goran Bogdan), is already living in the house. Sparks fly between Zeynep and Josip even as they come face-to-face with Zeynep’s dream of turning her childhood home into an Airbnb. Everything seems to be working against the romance between the two: their clashing ideals and Zeinab’s family. But Josip could be exactly the person Zeynab needs in her life.
The chemistry between Zeynep and Josip is instant, but Jopp and writer Jane Ainscough allow a slow-burning romance to develop between them. It’s a love-hate story of pranks and harsh scoldings (not to mention burning each other’s underwear in revenge). Much of Faraway focuses on the steadily building relationship between the two, after setting up some scenes of Zaynab’s unhappiness at home. Not surprisingly, the rom-com shines brightest when it centers on the romance and comedy that follows the couple.
Confounding the plot is the re-emergence of Zeynab’s family drama. While some heartwarming moments bring the uneven storyline back a bit, the last few scenes of the film make it a bit less of Zeinab’s story. At least he can take away from his journey that it’s okay to be a little selfish sometimes. And while the ending leaves us in a quandary, with more questions than answers about where Zeinab will end up – we at least know she’s going to do what’s right for her, and that’s satisfying in and of itself.
As with the film’s many languages (spoken in English, German, Turkish, and Croatian), Faraway has a lot of compelling elements that come together—they just could have tied them together more strongly with sharper direction and more careful writing. central romance.
If you can excuse the uneven family drama, stream Faraway on Netflix for the beautiful Croatian scenery and the brilliant chemistry between Krauss and Bogdan.