Pandora'nin kutusu (2008)

Director:

Yesim Ustaoglu

Writers:

Selma Kaygusuz (screenplay)
Yesim Ustaoglu (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (Turkey)

Plot:

When an aging matriarch starts showing signs of dementia, her dysfunctional family in Istanbul must navigate a minefield of unresolved issues to care for her. |

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Grandmother Grandson Relationship | Alzheimer's Disease | Family Crisis | Family Relationships

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Onur Ünsal	...	Murat
Derya Alabora	...	Nesrin
Tsilla Chelton	...	Nusret
Övül Avkiran	...	Güzin
Osman Sonant	...	Mehmet
Tayfun Bademsoy	...	Faruk
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nazmi Kirik	...	Hirsiz
Emrah Tinte

Also Known As:

La boîte de Pandore (France)
Pandora's Box (International: English title)

Runtime:

Argentina:112 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Turkey | France | Germany | Belgium

Language:

Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13

Company:

Ustaoglu Film Yapim

Let me go to my mountain,or else I'll forget there too...

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Since the time "Pandora's Box" was honored with the golden sea-shell in San Sebastián International Film Festival I have been looking froward to seeing it.While the recent Turkish comedy potboilers seem to be everywhere at your disposal, movies like this one,alas, look like really hard to find. Pandora's Box is the story of three siblings,Nesrin, Güzin,and Mehmet who have to deal with their aging mother who suddenly shows signs of senile dementia. While Nesrin (Derya Alabora)is already anxious about her son who hasn't been home for a while, she receives a call notifying that her mother has gone missing. She contacts her two siblings,Murat(Onur Ünsal)and Güzin (Övül Avkiran) and the three siblings living in Istanbul set out for their village located in the Black Sea region. En route, the dysfunctional family lets the viewer know them better with their unresolved issues. Murat apparently can't pay even his rent while Güzin is still with an "ass.hole who is just screwing with her"...and Güzin is continuously accused of messing with everybody's life and giving orders... When they arrive in their village, they find their mother Nusret (Tsilla Chelton) and take her to Istanbul but the last place the aging Nusret would like to be in is a bustling,crowded,noisy metropolis. While the three siblings can't really sort out their differences and find some peace in their life Nesrin's son (Nusret's maladjusted grandson) surprisingly turns out to be only one who can really get to communicate with the nanny. Against the backdrop of alienation versus affection, modernity versus traditionality, a metropolitan city versus a lush green,mountainous village the story of Pandora's Box is a sweet story but I can't really say the same thing for the acting.The award winning ninety-year-old French actress Tsilla Chelton seems like she is the only one doing justice to the cinematic experience. I don't know...maybe Chelton was so great with all that experience that she overshadowed the whole cast because she seems like she is the whole locomotive for the achievement of this movie. In short, Pandora's Box is not a bad movie but it does not sound as good as any movie which got so many awards like the golden Golden Seashell.