CHASING RÉVE

Premise:

The story suggests that the images presented on social media may not reflect reality and that when we let life flow naturally, it can offer us surprises far more beautiful than we planned.

Logline:

Can joins a Vienna tour to meet Rüya, a tour guide he has been following on social media for a long time. However, due to the holiday, he is unable to join Rüya’s group. As the tour progresses, he discovers the truth behind Rüya’s carefully curated online persona and realizes that the woman of his dreams is actually Derya, another traveler in the group.

Synopsis:

Can and Demir are two close friends who travel to Vienna with a tour group. While Can dreams of meeting and getting to know Rüya, an idealized tour guide he admires on social media, Demir is preoccupied with sharing every moment online. However, things don’t go as planned. They end up in a group led by an incompetent and chaotic guide, Rıfkı, instead of Rüya. Due to Rıfkı’s organizational mishaps, hotel mix-ups, and constant blunders, their trip turns into both a hilarious and thought-provoking experience.

As Can gets to know the real Rüya, he becomes disillusioned. Her shallow and self-centered behavior makes him question his attraction to her. During this process, he crosses paths with Derya, a strong and sincere woman who joined the tour alone after being cheated on by her partner. As they explore Vienna’s rich historical and artistic atmosphere together, Can finds himself drawn to Derya’s authenticity and depth.

In front of Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss at the Belvedere Palace, Can and Derya discover the true meaning of love and sincerity in human relationships. Can learns to let go of his pursuit of perfection and appreciate the beauty in imperfections. Moving away from Rüya’s superficial world, he realizes the value of the moments he shares with Derya. This journey becomes not just a sightseeing trip but also a journey of self-discovery and reflection on relationships for both Can and Demir.

FULL STORY:

Can and his friend Demir join a Vienna tour. Can’s main reason for joining is his long-standing sense of emptiness and desire for self-discovery. Before the trip, he had been following Rüya, a tour guide, on social media, and her posts had sparked something in him. Her fascination with Klimt’s works, particularly The Kiss, played a key role in his growing interest in her. In her posts, Rüya describes Emilie Flöge as Klimt’s soulmate, suggesting that when people find their soulmates, their creativity awakens. She presents herself as a modern-day Flöge, seemingly waiting for someone like Can to awaken her soul. This makes Can eager to join Rüya’s Vienna tour, hoping to meet her in person.

Can envisions a perfect moment: standing next to Rüya in front of The Kiss, where they will instinctively understand that they complete each other. Encouraged by this dream, he convinces Demir to join the tour with him. While Can aims to get to know Rüya better, Demir is focused on creating travel content for his social media.

Upon arrival in Vienna, they search for Rüya, who is waving a red tour flag. When Can finally sees her up close, he notices a stark difference between the real Rüya and her filtered online presence. However, he dismisses this, believing that her depth and intellect matter more. When Rüya starts calling out names from her tour list, Can eagerly waits for his name, only to be disappointed—he and Demir have been placed in a different group led by the clumsy guide Rıfkı due to the high number of participants.

Can consults Demir, who reassures him that both groups will visit similar places, so he will still have chances to meet Rüya. However, a series of mishaps begin. While Rüya’s group has no trouble checking into their hotel, Can’s group faces reservation issues and is eventually sent to a rundown hotel on the outskirts of Vienna.

Despite this, Can remains hopeful about meeting Rüya. But as he scrolls through her posts, he realizes she is already comfortably settled in her hotel, reading a book. Understanding that he won’t see her until the next day, Can agrees to explore Vienna with Demir. They visit the Naschmarkt, where Can browses antique pocket mirrors, reminding him of how Rüya constantly checks herself in her phone camera. Unsure which mirror to buy, he gets advice from Derya, a fellow traveler.

The next day, Can desperately tries to run into Rüya at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and Hofburg Palace but keeps missing her. To make matters worse, he and Derya miss their tour bus, and she unexpectedly joins his search for Rüya. They finally track her down at Figlmüller, a famous schnitzel restaurant, but the long queue dashes Can’s hopes. Thanks to Derya’s quick thinking, they get to the front of the line—only for Rüya to leave just as they arrive.

They then follow Rüya to the Vienna State Opera. Following a poll on Demir’s social media, the trio dresses in overly fancy attire to attend. However, they are denied entry for being too extravagantly dressed and are forced to leave. Later that night, they discover that Rüya is at a bar, and they rush to find her.

At the bar, Rüya is sitting with a female friend while eyeing another man. Meanwhile, Demir gets drunk, and Derya feels unwell. Can helps Derya to the restroom, but while hiding in a stall, they overhear Rüya and her friend talking. Can is shocked to learn that Rüya is actually a gold-digger, constantly seeking wealthy men. Disillusioned, he realizes that the person he thought he admired was just an illusion.

Leaving the bar, Demir, now heavily intoxicated, causes a commotion in a taxi, leading to the driver kicking them out in the middle of the road. As they walk back, Derya opens up about her past—she was supposed to take this trip with her longtime boyfriend, Sarp, but discovered his infidelity the day before the tour. Inspired by her courage to go on the trip alone, Can and Demir grow closer to her.

On the final day at the Belvedere Palace, Can no longer cares about Rüya. Ironically, this is when Rüya finally notices him—after overhearing a conversation that reveals Can is a successful businessman in Turkey. She attempts to engage him, but Can brushes her off.

Instead, he finds Derya deeply immersed in The Kiss. Drawn to her perspective, he stands beside her, sharing his own interpretation of the painting. As they talk, Derya takes out Can’s pocket mirror, which he had accidentally dropped in the taxi. As she hands it back, it falls, and when Can picks it up, he remarks, “The mirror has found its owner.”

As they both hold the mirror, their reflections merge into one—symbolizing the true message of The Kiss: a union of two souls.

Story by:

Arzu SEÇKİN

Story in Turkish click here