Lia, a Georgian former schoolteacher has promised to fulfil her recently deceased sister’s last wish – to find her long lost transsexual daughter Tekla. Her sister’s neighbour, an out of luck young man called Achi, tells Lia that Tekla went to Istanbul. They travel across the border to that city in search of her. Meanwhile, a trans former sex worker, Evrim works at a charity for girls in her old position whilst studying for a law degree.
Writer/director Levan Akin’s film follows those two storylines before they inevitably come together. He provides a detailed insight into an unfamiliar culture and the messy lives of a disparate group of people. The performances are very natural. Mzia Arabuli does very well portraying Lia, gradually revealing previously hidden depths. Lucas Kankava captures Achi’s vulnerability and charm but it is Deniz Dumanli, in her screen debut, who really shines as Evrim.
Istanbul is shown as a crowded, chaotic and grimy city. It is not somewhere I would want to visit, but it is fascinating to see it from a safe distance! I was also surprised how the trans community seemed largely more accepted than in the UK where they seem to be roundly hated.
The plot fizzles out towards the end a little as Akin seems to struggle to find a satisfying – but not cliched – conclusion.
Rating: 8 out of 10