By its very nature, motherhood is transformative. Yes, there is the obvious aspect that the body must change to make room for the soon-to-be child, but clearly it goes beyond that. After the birth, there is an emotional change, as well. The mother is now responsible for the protection and care of the child, regardless of its behavior. And this does not even cover the sleepless nights, feedings, and dedication it takes to care for the baby in its first years. Now, some might say that fatherhood changes a person, as well. This is true, but there is a difference. Carrying a child for nine months, birthing a child, nursing a child; there is an inherent discrepancy that simply cannot be denied. There is beauty in this transformation, but terror as well. There are countless examples of motherhood as body horror in cinema, and Alphan Eseli’s Mutter: The Diary of a Mother certainly strikes that particular chord.
As the film opens its first chapter, titled “Birth,” Gül (Hazar Ergüçlü) is in agony, as her husband, Cem (Erdeniz Kurucan), careens down a dangerous road, rushing to get her medical attention. Gül is about to give birth when Cem hits the brakes, nearly hitting a downed tree. Blood spurting from between her thighs, Gül gives birth as Cem literally runs away, disappearing into the woods. As the camera, helmed by cinematographer Özkan Karaköse, pans back to her, we are introduced to her progeny, clearly inhuman and designed to make audiences squirm. Gül reacts with neither fear nor adoration, but simply with that of a mother who must care for it.
The creature, as well as some of the emotional material, is reminiscent of Possession, though more grounded (a low bar, to be sure). As she returns home, Eseli never shies away from the brutality of both the creature and infants, in general. It bellows more than cries, and when it latches onto its mother’s nipple for sustenance, it bites and devours. There is more than one sequence that will make the audience wince, and yet Gül never turns away. Despite being abandoned by nearly everyone, she persists in doing what she must to care for her child, hideous monstrosity it may be.
Eventually, Gül must venture out into the real world, in the chapter titled “Hunger.” It is in this section that Ergüçlü shines brightest, even with her senses being dulled. Despite her abandonment, her child is growing and needs sustenance. In a particularly harrowing scene, she attempts to get meat from a butcher in town, which quickly barrels toward a violent confrontation. There is a certain patience in the screenplay, also written by Eseli, that allows a build-up in her emotion. Once unleashed, it feels as if there is no going back. It is to the film’s advantage that Eseli puts his faith in Ergüçlü, who shows a mastery for both expressing and bottling emotion, a rarity.
As one might expect, Mutter: The Diary of a Mother is not for the faint of heart. It is relentlessly bleak, with almost no moments of kindness. Ergüçlü has a few brief moments of relaxation when she leaves the child locked away, but even this is minimal, and you can see her mind travel back to her responsibilities. Despite the fact that there is a time jump at the third and final chapter, “Macabre,” the film never lets up. This is about the trials and tribulations of single motherhood, and especially connected to how men are not to be depended on, even those that mean well, like Cem’s older boss who takes a liking to Ergüçlü.
Eseli smartly includes well-meaning men and contrasts them with stories of women being carried off into the woods and murdered. These stories are not meant to create subplots, but to remind us of the danger that women face on a daily basis. The “would you choose a bear or a man” discussion is constantly at the forefront of one’s mind here. Given that Cem, without a word, takes off running even before seeing the child, tells us everything that we need to know about manhood and what women may face at signs of difficulty. They are left to fend for themselves, even if not so directly as in this film.
Mutter: The Diary of a Mother, in moments, stands on the shoulders of giants like Andrzej Żuławski. This, in some ways, limits it, but it also has the great fortune of casting Hazar Ergüçlü, who, despite the creature feature around her, manages a grounding that allows us in, even when her character would never do so for anyone in her life. Although it could have more subtlety in its message, by the end of the film, we have empathy for Gül and dream that she could have had a better life, instead of what she was saddled with, being forced to care for a child (regardless of form) in secret, and with no one to depend upon. As we look back on our own mother’s experience, especially if they raised a child by themselves, it is easy to see the transformation, both good and bad, that they all went through. Their sacrifices, usually unnoticed, are nearly impossible to imagine, but we must
Mutter: The Diary of a Mother held its World Premiere as a part of the Escape From Tribeca section of the 2026 Tribeca Festival.
Director: Alphan Eseli
Screenwriter: Alphan Eseli
Rated: NR
Runtime: 99m
Mutter: The Diary of a Mother is not for the faint of heart. It is relentlessly bleak, with almost no moments of kindness
Dave is a lifelong film fan who really got his start in the independent film heyday of the 90’s. Since then, he has tried to branch out into arthouse, international, and avant garde film. Despite that, he still enjoys a good romcom or action movie. His goal is to always expand his horizons, through writing and watching new movies.
