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Chronology
Leah, a retired teacher, vows to find her long-lost niece, Tekle. Her search takes her to Istanbul, where she meets Evrim, a lawyer fighting for transgender rights, and Tekle begins to feel closer to him than ever before. Not a pleure pas performed by Tulle German.
It’s a great topic
There are many crossings or transitions here – crossing borders, countries, families, communities, societies, mindsets, gender, sexuality. And Leah is a wonderful woman with many layers that sometimes come off surprisingly slowly. She makes many transitions here, and it’s beautiful.
Still concerned about appearances and people’s judgments
In the end, she emerges as a wise woman in her village, on her land, in her community, and as a mother to both Achis, a little boy abandoned by his mother since childhood, and Tekla, a niece she abandoned long ago. That’s how you make an honest film about a very sensitive subject in a very conservative and patriarchal society. It shows us things, raw, strange, funny, strange, strange, warm, heartbreaking, but perhaps the most believable and to some extent relatable.
The only remaining relative is the child she failed to protect and care for
You can relate to Achi, who is attached to Leah, but Evrim, a teenager who wants to eat, drink and have fun without thinking about the consequences, who wants to help people who can’t help themselves or are independent. For whatever reason, Evrim needs someone to love and support her, and retired aunt Leya, respected in her small community, has come to realize that she is alone. Despite all the troubles, misfortunes, and troubles they face in the big city of Istanbul, there is always someone around to ease your sorrow or help you.
With real people and real reactions and real dialogue
There is a warmth in this film, with its slightly darker moments. And I was ready to accept the ending of Deus ex Machina, because it was too good to be true, and my heart broke for Thekla. Again, that’s how you make a film without shoving an agenda down people’s throats.