The Albert Camus Society of the U.K. Fate by Zeki Demirkubuz.

Fate by Zeki Demirkubuz

Dermirkubuz’s Fate is not The Outsider. The stories are similar and some events are identical, however Dermirkubuz’s Musa and Camus’ Meursault are not the same man. Outwardly both men lead very similar lives but inwardly Demirkubuz leaves us to guess what goes on in Musa’s head. Camus deliberately wrote The Outsider in the first person but without reflection. We hear what Meursault sees and does, but we get very little analysis from him. In fact, the only time we get any insight into Meursault’s feelings is when he is standing opposite the Arab on the beach with the gun in his hand, and while he is in prison awaiting execution.

Musa’s motives and feelings are not explored in Fate. At the very end of the film we get to see him talk a little about his philosophy on life but we get no indication of what it feels like to be Musa. Many reviews of Fate have referred to the film as ‘existential,’ but this isn’t exactly true. Musa doesn’t think about his existence, or if he does, we the viewer know nothing of this thought. Meursault has spent some time coming to terms with his existence, in prison he experiences great surges of passion for life and existential revelations. Musa on the other hand, displays no passion for life and appears indifferent as to whether he lives or dies.

It is inevitable and unfortunate that some people will come away from Fate thinking Musa and Meursault (and perhaps Camus) are pretty much the same guy. This is not true. Musa and Meursault’s lives are similar, they come from similar backgrounds, have similar jobs and friends and experience some oddly similar events. At one point in the film, the prosecutor, while reading through Musa’s file, comments “your life is similar to a character in a French novel I once read.” But ultimately, Musa and Meursault are two different men, with very different outlooks on life.

The film itself is watchable and filmed in a restrained and controlled way. Since Demirkubuz makes no claim other than basing the film on Camus’ work he cannot be fairly accused of misinterpreting The Outsider. In fact the comparison between Meursault and Musa will be quite valuable to Camus scholars.

Verdict: A worthwhile film, enjoyable to watch with interesting comparisons to be made between Camus’ Meursault and Dermirkubuz’s Musa.

The Albert Camus Society of the U.K. camus-society.com. 2005.