Pandora's Box

Pandora's Box tackles a reality of Turkey that is just waiting to explode; and it does so with sesitivity and comprassion. In the film, a tale of different quests and losses, the life struggles of three generations, their expectations, disappointments and longing for inner balance (something that permanently eludes them) are observed with an existental slant. When their ageing mother, who leads a solitary life in the lush green hills of the Black Sea region, developes Alzheimer's disease, two Istanbul based sisters find themselves having to take care of her. Events unfold in the framework of their strained relationship, revealing the various sickness of a society on the edge of a nervous breakdown (like the main characters themselves), a society that has lost a memory... With Journey to the Sun and Waiting for the Clouds, Yeşim ustağlu explored the problems of supra-identity/sub-identity. In Pandora's Box, which could also be described as the film of lost generations dependent on consumer society models, she has managed to capture essence, independent of a particular geography or spesific culture. Furthermore, she projects Istanbul's exceptionally colorful, contradictory and dynamic identy in different lights to stunning effect.
Germany Belgium France Türkiye
'
2008


Script
Sema Kaygusuz
Yeşim Ustaoğlu

Cinematography
Jacques Besse

Editing
Frank Nakache

Production
Ustaoglu Film Production

Cast
Derya Capsize
Onur Unsal
Osman Sonant
Avkıran is enjoying himself
Tsilla Chelton

Music
Jean Pierre Mas

Awards
Best Actress San Sebastian
Best Supporting Actress Antalya
Golden Shell Best Film

Festivals
14th Festival on Wheels
TURKEY 2008