My Mother’s Wound
Year: 2016
Runtime: 120 mins
Language: Turkish
Director: Ozan Açıktan
After leaving the orphanage on his eighteenth birthday, Salih seeks out his lost family and finds work on a Serbian farm. He unexpectedly discovers a sense of belonging, but struggles to escape the trauma of his past. As he begins to build a new life, unsettling secrets emerge, threatening his newfound happiness. The film explores themes of family, love, and identity, following Salih's journey through a landscape scarred by war and loss.
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My Mother’s Wound (2016) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained
Read the complete plot breakdown of My Mother’s Wound (2016), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
On turning 18, Salih leaves the Zenica orphanage in modern-day Bosnia, where he was raised, to search for his parents. Süleyman Atanısev as Sadık, the principal, hesitantly gives him the address of Mirsad, a crippled cobbler who lives in Simin Han. Upon Salih’s arrival, [Mirsad] insists he join the family for lunch, where he meets Nerma and their young son Vedat. He also encounters Nerma’s elderly mother, Mevlide, who privately reveals that Salih is Nerma’s son. Believing the truth could unleash more pain, [Mevlide] urges Salih to leave, handing him money and her earrings. As Salih departs, he bumps into a surprised Nerma bringing them lunch, and he returns the earrings along the way.
A storm of emotion drives Salih to pursue Borislav, yet he learns there are multiple people with that name. His search leads him to a farm in Prijedor, where he poses as a job seeker. Borislav is about to turn him away, but his wife Marija—a woman who resents discrimination against Muslims—welcomes him and hires him for a two-week trial. Salih struggles to find evidence tying Borislav to the rape, and instead discovers a man who is loving toward his wife, and even a hero who rescues a boy from a burning building. On a hunting trip with Borislav and his tattooed, rough-around-the-edges friends, Salih sees Borislav shirtless and notes the tattoo on his chest is not an eagle, a revelation that reassures him in part about the man’s identity.
Salih grows comfortable on the farm and forms a bond with Marija, while Nerma wrestles with amnesia and the lingering trauma of her past. He decides to move out to search for the rapist, but Borislav drags him along fishing, and Salih quietly hides a note he intends to leave behind. Marija discovers the note and confronts him; Salih admits that he is trying to find his parents but says nothing about the rape. Meanwhile, Marija’s actions begin to blur lines of memory and loyalty as she strives to help him locate his family. She eventually contacts Nerma, under the impression that Nerma is Mrs Mevlide, and explains that Salih works on her farm and that they are desperate to locate his family—inviting Nerma to visit.
Desperate to reclaim her memory, Nerma returns to the farm where she finds Salih and demands the truth. Salih denies knowledge of the past. She asks if Salih is her son, to which he cryptically replies:
I am my mother’s wound.
Nerma’s memory returns when she sees a photograph of Borislav and recognizes him as the rapist, realizing also that Salih is her son. Salih recalls that the eagle tattoo had been inked over, confirming the forged history that surrounded him. Realizing his identity has been discovered, Borislav arrives with a shotgun, and a tense standoff unfolds. Salih denounces Borislav and rejects him as his father, while Nerma drags Salih away, and they begin to walk away on foot.
Marija confronts Borislav and takes the shotgun, pointing it at her own head in a desperate stand. Salih and Nerma meet [Mirsad] driving along the road, and they hear a gunshot from the farmhouse. As Salih races back, a second shot rings out, implying that both Marija and Borislav have committed suicide. The film closes with Nerma calling out to Salih.
Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:45
Explore Movie Threads
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Movies about Post-War Secrets like My Mother’s Wound
Slow-burn dramas where characters dig up painful family legacies in the aftermath of conflict.If you were captivated by the way My Mother’s Wound unveils a painful family legacy, you'll find similar stories here. These movies explore the aftermath of conflict, where characters search for identity and truth in landscapes haunted by war, often leading to devastating revelations.
Narrative Summary
Stories in this thread typically follow a protagonist, often a survivor or a relative, on a quest for answers in a post-conflict setting. The journey is less about action and more about a psychological investigation, where each uncovered secret deepens the emotional complexity and leads to a climactic, often tragic, confrontation with the past.
Why These Movies?
These films are grouped by their shared focus on the lingering effects of war on personal identity and family, a steady, deliberate pacing that builds dread, and a profoundly somber, introspective mood. They resonate with viewers seeking profound, character-driven explorations of trauma and memory.
Heavy Psychological Dramas like My Mother’s Wound
Intense character studies where internal anguish and past horrors dictate a tragic fate.For viewers who appreciated the intense psychological depth and tragic arc of My Mother’s Wound, this section features similar emotionally draining journeys. These movies are characterized by high tension, minimal humor, and a focus on characters wrestling with inescapable trauma and moral complexity.
Narrative Summary
The narrative pattern involves a protagonist grappling with profound personal trauma that defines their present reality. The plot is driven by their internal conflict and the slow, inevitable unraveling of their mental state, often leading to a climax where the past and present collide with catastrophic results.
Why These Movies?
Movies in this thread share a consistently high intensity, a dark and tense tone, and a pacing that steadily amplifies psychological pressure. They are united by their exploration of severe themes like trauma, moral ambiguity, and identity crisis, offering a cathartic but harrowing viewing experience.
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