'Ashes' Ending Explained: Gokce is trapped between fiction and reality as Metin Ali kills Kenan Urkan
Contains spoilers for 'Ashes'
BALAT, ISTANBUL: 'Ashes' is a psychological drama film that follows the story of a wealthy, married woman who becomes enamored with a mysterious carpenter after reading a manuscript. Fiction begins to dominate her senses, leading her to live out someone else's adventures.
The Turkish film features Funda Eryigit, Alperen Duymaz and Mehmet Gunsur in the lead roles. It premiered on Netflix on February 9, 2024.
What happens when Kenan Urkan confronts Metin Ali and Gokce?
As the film nears its conclusion, Kenan Urkan (Mehmet Gunsur) arranges a meal at his home where he confronts Gokce (Funda Eryigit) and Metin Ali (Alperen Duymaz). Kenan suggests that his wife is suffering from fictophilia, a mental disorder where one becomes sexually attracted to a fictional character.
Shifting his focus from his wife and her extramarital affair, he reads out the excerpts from 'Ashes,' suggesting that Duygu Akkaya, the author of 'Ashes,' had also planned a meal where she confronted Ali and her sister Reyhan Akkaya after finding out about their affair. He goes on to accuse Ali of killing Duygu.
However, Ali defends himself, claiming that Duygu was mentally unstable, and she took her own life. The argument turns violent, with Ali ending up stabbing Kenan with a piece of glass. During their physical altercation, Gokce sits silently at the table, confused between fiction and reality.
Who published 'Ashes'?
The film concludes with 'Ashes' being published by author Taner Alpar after Kenan burnt its only manuscript before he died.
Taner was earlier introduced in the film at Gokce and Kenan's 10th wedding anniversary party where Kenan advised him to stop writing about his own life and find something fresh to write about. And it seems like he finally did.
We can assume that Taner might have closely observed what was going on in the lives of the couple and penned it in his latest book 'Ashes'.
When a member of the audience asks him about his writing process and his sources, he says, "I realised I was writing too much about myself." His wife, who's also close friend of Gokce's, is seen smiling mischievously.
Does Gokce kill herself?
During the conference, Taner is asked why he made his main character commit suicide by throwing herself under a train. He explains that there is a connection with Leo Tolstoy's 1878 novel Anna Karenina, where the protagonist has the same ending.
In the last frame of the film, we see Gokce standing with her son at a train station. While it is not shown, one can assume that she jumped in front of the train along with her son, and thus, the story of 'Ashes' became hers, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.