A bittersweet film about a family’s confrontation. When the aging matriarch Nusret suddenly disappears from her home in the mountains, her children must put their differences aside in an attempt to save her. They find her exhausted and lost in the forest, and take her back to Istanbul. She is diagnosed with Alzheimer, in a very advanced state. Ustaoglu paints a warm yet distressing portrait of a fragmenting family who are forced to find their way back to each other for their mother’s sake. The oldest daughter, Nesrin, desperately tries to keep her own family together, while her son Murat does what he can to get away from his mother’s controlling grip. Murat would rather stay out with his uncle Mehmet, a slacker who has broken with his sisters a long time ago. The youngest daughter, Guzin, has enough to do to try keeping her own existence afloat, and in the end it is Murat who, somewhat reluctantly, has to take care of his increasingly demanding grandmother.
Veteran Tsilla Chelton’s marvellous performance as Nusret leads an ensemble who succeedes masterfully in portraying both familial dysfunctionality and loyalty. The alternation between a claustrophobic Istanbul and the open hillsides give the film an added dimension, without Ustaoglu having to resort to clichés. akek

Kommentarer

Årets eldrebølgen-film. Illustrerer veldig bra problemene en familie i en urbanisiert sammfunn har med å handtere en bestemor med Alzheimer. Nådeløs sosjaldrama. Interessant var at bildet av tyrkisk sammfunn som tegnes er helt identisk med de fleste europeiske steder.
Ffs2009 / 12. okt 2009 kl. 14:05

Til en forandring en tyrkisk film med mye dialog og bevegelse, og allmenn appell ettersom familiens overhode har fått Alzheimer. (Beste)morens sykdom bringer konflikter i familien opp til overflaten, og vekslingen mellom metropolen Istanbul og fjellet kan være betegnende for de ulike generasjonenes verdier og virkelighet.
Izabela / 13. okt 2009 kl. 00:13