Mrs. Lia (Mzia Arabuli), a retired Georgian history teacher, is on a hunt for her trans niece Tekla. Finding Tekla is the dying wish of her sister. The hunt commences in a Georgian seaside village where Tekla was last seen, but Tekla has disappeared. Achi (Lucas Kankava), a young villager, claims to have Tekla’s address in Istanbul and speaking some English and Turkish persuades Mrs. Lia to take him to assist her in the hunt.
Travelling by bus they arrive in Istanbul which dazzles the viewer with its bustling calamity. Tekla is not to be found at the address provided by Achi which is amid the “trans quarter” populated by trans sex workers.
The search takes Achi and Mrs. Lia throughout many than less savory but colourful districts of Istanbul. They meet trans lawyer Evrim (Deniz Dumanli) in the midst of finalizing her female identity card. Evrim volunteers for “Pink Life” which protects the rights of the trans community.
Evrim is a bright light of optimism and charisma. Mrs. Lia is a tense tightly knit ball of negativity. Achi walks a tightrope between the two mouth agape at the seething life of Istanbul. This melange is odd but it works!
The search leads to a trans bordello run by “Mother” where it so happened Tekla worked but disappeared as “you know what it is like with girls and drugs”.
Is Tekla ever found? Interpret the end of the film as you wish.
The plot is rather simplistic; a search for a missing family member but the adventure is an exciting one highlighting an Istanbul most tourists will never encounter. In fact great credit must be given to the actors but Istanbul itself may be the star of the film. The Turkish music adds to the exoticism of Istanbul.
Yes, enjoy the adventure with a diverse group of characters but central to the film is forgiveness and self realization of a needlessly cruel behavior and attitude to the trans community where an apology may be too late hence tragic.
Written and directed by Levan Akin.
You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp7LGi5Uwg4
The Canadian theatrical release commences 26July2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 90/100.
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