By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yesim Ustaoglu
Starring: Derya Alabora | Onur Ünsal | Osman Sonant | Ovül Avkiran | Tsilla Chelton
Original language title: Pandoranin kutusu
Country: turkey
Year: 2008
Running time: 112
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285130/
Bruce says: “Nesrin’s husband thinks she is frigid. Nesrin’s son Murat is truant and so detached from reality he seems suicidal. He thinks his mother is controlling. Nesrin’s sister Güzin, a professional single woman, has a destructive relationship going. Their brother Mehmet is a well educated drug addict, living one step from homelessness.
“The siblings rarely interact. Suddenly they are thrown together in crisis – their aged mother, who lives in a remote village where they were raised, is missing. They embark on a road trip to the village and finally find their mother wandering in the woods. She has clearly reached the point where some assistance and monitoring are required. She is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Any immediate solution involves uprooting her from the home she loves. First she starts out at Nesrin’s home, then moves on to Güzin’s apartment. Both trials are disastrous. At Nesrin’s she pees on the carpet; she wanders off from Güzin’s. Proving that communications are best effective when a generation is skipped over, only Murat hears her plea, ‘Kidnap me. Take me to my village.’ Before that happens, she imparts wisdom to each of her children. Her observations are simple yet searing. In spite of being well-educated and, in the case of her daughters, quite upscale, the children cannot see their own shortcomings.
“Finally Murat comes to her rescue and takes her back home. Although he assumes the responsibility he comes to learn that he has his own limitations, a life lesson that has passed his mother’s generation by. As the octogenarian mother Tsilla Chelton is brilliant. A native of France she learned Turkish for the role. Filmgoes may remember her equally brilliant title performance in TATIE DANIELLLE. PANDORA’S BOX is another intriguing effort from the flourishing, albeit small, film industry in Turkey. 4 cats
“(PANDORA’S BOX screened at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.)”