Last Harem

Last Harem (Harem Suarè, 1999), directed by Ferzan Özpetek, is a historical drama you can watch online on iFILM. The Ottoman Empire is crumbling, but inside the palace of Sultan Abdülhamid II, the world still runs by its own ancient rules.

Safiye (Marie Gillain), a young odalisque of Italian origin, has a clear plan: become the sultan's favourite, bear him an heir, secure her place. She is calculating enough to do whatever it takes — until she meets Nadir (Alex Descas), a Black eunuch, and something shifts that no amount of calculation had accounted for.

Özpetek — the Italian-Turkish filmmaker whose work consistently finds emotion in unlikely corners — frames the fall of the empire as backdrop. The palace empties, the odalisques and eunuchs are left to fend for themselves, and what remains is the story of two people who found each other in a place designed to make that impossible. Stream Last Harem online on iFILM.