The Turkish Netflix drama series, Museum of Innocence, based on the novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and set in 1970s Istanbul, revolves around a young man's despair and devotion. Kemal Basmaci, the youngest son of a family of textile exporters, was in love with Sibel, who belonged to the wealthy bourgeoisie to which Kemal belonged. The 1970s witnessed a clash between Western and conservative lifestyles, and people like Kemal and Sibel prided themselves on having a Western perspective.
They had slept together before their marriage; Sibel believed she would marry him, so "going all the way" was a way of demonstrating her complete trust in him. Kemal was happy with her, but that was before he met her distant cousin, Fusun. They were not related by blood, and Fusun and her family were not as wealthy as Kemal's. Because of their social standing, they weren't invited to elegant gatherings, but that soon changed when Kemal became obsessed with the eighteen-year-old.
Stars: Emirhan Parlak, Selahattin Pasali, Eylül Kandemir
Kemal was thirty when he met Fusun; he found her stunningly beautiful, and her innocence captivated him. Kemal and Fusun soon began meeting at his apartment, where they made love without a care for the consequences. But things changed drastically after Kemal became engaged to Sibel. Fusun distanced herself from Kemal, leaving him depressed and melancholic. In this article, we will analyze the ending of "Museum of Innocence" in detail.
After eight years of pursuing Fusun, Kemal was finally about to marry her. From breaking off Sibel's engagement (after struggling to endure it) to Fusun's divorce from her husband, Feridun, they had both been through a great deal, and Kemal was glad that Fusun finally realized they were meant to be together. Kemal had been so focused on the "prize" that he never saw the sadness in Fusun's eyes. His mother had told him there was something mysterious about Fusun, but Kemal didn't pay much attention to it. Kemal's mother was happy to see her son finally content, even if it meant accepting a young woman she initially disapproved of.
Fusun had told Kemal that she didn't want a physical relationship with him before marriage and that she really hoped they could travel to Europe before the wedding. Kemal was willing to offer Fusun anything she asked for. While trying to obtain her passport and visa, Fusun realized how complicated the process was for "people like her"—those without influence or social standing. She felt humiliated when asked if she was unemployed. She was reminded that she "couldn't" travel abroad without someone like Kemal by her side. She decided to give up on her dream, but Kemal refused to see her affected, so he used his connections to get her visa approved.
Kemal, his driver, Fusun, and her mother were ready to travel to Europe. On their first night, they decided to rest at a hotel they found by chance. Kemal was captivated when he saw Fusun, stunning in an elegant red dress, in the dining room. Although they had planned to marry immediately, Kemal took a ring from his pocket and declared that he wanted to propose to her. They exchanged rings, and Kemal could barely contain his lustful desire as he sat down beside her. He made it clear that he wanted to spend the night with her, but Fusun refused. After a passionate kiss, Kemal retired to his room.
After a few seconds, he heard a knock at the door and was overjoyed to see Fusun on the other side. Kemal longed for her desperately; he had waited years just to hold her close, and at last he was living his dream. The next morning, when Kemal woke up, Fusun wasn't beside him. He saw her sitting by the sunflower field across from the hotel. He sat down next to her and was slightly disappointed to see a glass on what he described as "the most beautiful day in the world."
Fusun was offended when Kemal called her "young lady"; she feared he still saw her as the vulnerable eighteen-year-old shop girl he had once known. She felt conflicted; on the one hand, she adored him for everything he had done for her; on the other, she had come to understand that he was the reason she couldn't live freely. She shed silent tears as she reflected on her miserable situation, but, as usual, Kemal didn't notice her anguish.
When Fusun declared that all she had ever wanted was to be a movie star, Kemal casually replied that one day she would be. Fusun knew he wasn't serious. He was the reason she'd never had the chance to face the camera. He had convinced her ex-husband to cast someone other than Fusun, and his opinion mattered, since he had financed the film. Kemal was responsible for ruining her dream, and she couldn't believe he had the nerve to tell her that if she really wanted to act, she would make it someday. Fusun scoffed at his comment; she knew he wouldn't help her become an actress because he had nothing to gain from it, and the fact that he seemed oblivious to the damage he'd caused suggested he was in love with her.
When she didn't hesitate to express her disappointment, Kemal didn't take it well. When Fusun mentioned that she didn't want to have sex because she was afraid he wouldn't marry her if she "got what she wanted," Kemal teased her, saying that perhaps what she believed was true. Of course, for Kemal, his devotion to Fusun went beyond the physical, so he didn't appreciate her tone. They kissed passionately before Fusun coldly declared that if she could, she would have killed him. She pulled away, and after waiting a while, Kemal decided to follow her in his car.
He begged her to come with him and explained that they had a long way to go to reach their destination, but Fusun didn't care. She was furious and sensitive; she repeatedly blamed him for taking away her chance to become an actress. When he blurted out that he only wanted to protect her, she declared timidly that she wouldn't have turned out like one of those drunken young stars Kemal feared she would become. Fusun completely lost her temper when Kemal blamed her for her nonexistent acting career; he claimed she was too afraid to go anywhere without a "powerful man." Fusun felt insulted, but instead of reacting aggressively, she simply asked Kemal to let her drive back to the hotel.
Kemal assumed that perhaps she had accepted defeat and that driving was her way of regaining her independence. Fusun accelerated, and as they were about to hit a dog, she tried to knock it down, and they ended up crashing into an old tree in the sunflower field at a speed of 150 km/h. Kemal was rescued, but Fusun died instantly. Fusun didn't crash into the tree intentionally, but she was so full of rage and disappointment that she wanted to experience an adrenaline rush. She decided to drive at a dangerously high speed, and perhaps a part of her really did want to end her suffering.
As a woman from a lower-middle-class family living in 1970s Istanbul, Fusun's life was full of contradictions, and it became even more complicated when Kemal became obsessed with her. She feared ending up like one of those women the elite talked about, like Belkis, a glamorous woman most men swooned over at fancy parties, but who was simply rejected when proposed to. So she distanced herself from Kemal and settled for an average husband who promised to make her a movie star. But even that dream was thwarted when Kemal became too involved with her family and her husband.
Her parents knew his obsession was suffocating, but they thought that if their daughter married him, she would have a secure future. So they didn't dare object. Surprisingly, Fusun died in exactly the same way as Belkis. Her circumstances might have been different, but her fate was virtually identical. Fusun longed for independence, but she knew Kemal would follow her wherever she went. She refused to live as an extension of him. She yearned for freedom, but most doors remained closed, lacking influence and social standing. Fusun refused to end up as one of the objects Kemal had collected throughout their relationship.
In the end, Fusun asked Kemal if he had noticed the earrings she was wearing. He didn't seem to grasp their significance, and that infuriated her even more. They were the same earrings she had lost in his apartment during their romantic encounter. She had left them in the bathroom when they reunited after more than a year, though Fusun mentioned that she hadn't found them. After their informal engagement, Fusun put them on, hoping Kemal would be pleasantly surprised. But he was so consumed by his desires that he didn't see them.
That's precisely why she thought he only cared about sleeping with her. Fusun knew Kemal was devoted to her, but perhaps at that moment she doubted his commitment. It wasn't that important, but his failure to notice the earrings began to bother her deeply. Perhaps she was determined to criticize Kemal because she couldn't stand him anymore. But at the same time, she didn't have the courage to walk away from him and disappear again. She was trapped in this toxic relationship that sometimes made her immensely happy and, at other times, terribly sad.
After recovering and emerging from his coma, Kemal was told that Fusun had died. Immediately after regaining his strength, he went home to see his mother and spend some time in Fusun's room. He found the earrings she had been wearing the day of the accident, and they brought back cherished memories. His mother later explained that she had hoped to surprise him with the earrings. By the time Kemal recognized them, it was too late, and perhaps deep down he wondered if, had he paid closer attention, Fusun might still be alive and they might still be together.
After Fusun's death, Kemal traveled around Europe and was deeply inspired by the city's museums. Not the large, crowded ones, but the less-visited ones that held personal stories. He had realized that the vast number of objects he had collected over the years, whether significant to Fusun or simply things she had touched, could tell her story to the world. Over the years, he had collected more than four thousand cigarette butts that Fusun had left him. From her hairbrush to his dog's belongings at home, he had stolen anything that allowed him to feel close to her when they weren't together.
He had built a museum of objects that not only reminded him of her but also told stories, and living with them around him helped him find peace. This might be debatable, but I felt that Fusun's death, in a way, brought him relief. Yes, he could no longer be with her, but at the same time, he didn't have to constantly worry about her disappearance. If she had survived, she would undoubtedly have tried to be herself someday, and that would never have sat well with Kemal. He wanted to own, say, all the objects she had displayed in her apartment. Her death, in a way, made Kemal feel that, after all, she was his and no one could take her away from him. And perhaps that's what made him happy.
At the end of "Museum of Innocence," Kemal spoke with Fusun's mother and offered to buy her house to build the museum there, but she refused to leave because of the memories it held. Kemal decided to move in with Nesibe and take all the objects he had collected over the years. Nesibe allowed him to do as he pleased; she was happy that he was trying to keep her memory alive. Kemal dedicated his entire life to preserving the museum; he perfected every detail so that his visitors would understand the passionate love he felt for her.
Kemal met Orhan Pamuk (the author of the story) and told him about his relationship with Fusun and the museum he had built for her. He asked the author to write his life story honestly. After visiting the museum, Orhan felt a connection to the character of Kemal and thought he could write a book about him. Thirty years later, when Kemal visited Milan, he ran into Sibel. She was married and had two daughters; They recognized each other, and although they didn't exchange kind words, it was clear that Kemal was pleased that Sibel had the life she deserved, and perhaps Sibel briefly recalled the love she felt for Kemal.
In the final scene, Orhan received the news that Kemal had died of a heart attack at the age of 62 in his room at the Grand Hotel in Milan, holding a black-and-white photograph of Fusun. He had asked Orhan to let the readers know that he had lived a happy life; perhaps he had, or perhaps it was an illusion he desperately wanted to believe in.
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