Director: Can Ulkay
Cast: Çagatay Ulusoy , Emir Ali Dogrul , Ersin Arici , Turgay Tanülkü ,Osman Iskender Bayer , Selen Öztürk , Oksan Büyük , Tomris Çetinel , Volkan Çaliskan , Akcan Kovanci , Miraç Çelen
Plot: Mehmet runs a solid waste warehouse in an impoverished Istanbul neighborhood, where he helps everyone in need, especially homeless children and teenagers. One day, Mehmet meets a homeless 8-year-old boy who changes his life.
My Movie Review: The movie is dense and gritty little too heavy the main characters are trash collectors who grew up living on the street of Turkey, fleeing abusive homes or absent parents! Paper Lives is a dark film with some violent and difficult scenes and themes that could upset some viewers despite its heaviness there's a paper thin line it aspire to be hope for better lives! Mehmet who tries to reunite Ali with his family, establishes a different bond with the little boy sometimes you meet people in random without realizing the impact they will bring to us our life! The longer you watch the more you realize there's a lot than meets the eye you just have to find the hidden treasure that's buried deep beneath the surface but I was shock that Ali is an creation of his own mind, molded from Mehmet's own childhood that create a shift on the story! This makes me question how we were raised as a child affect our behavior when we grow up so parents need to plant the right seed with love & care for us to be fruitful' when they harvest:)
Critic Reviews: This melodrama from Turkey features some great performances, a moving storyline with a surprise ending, and intriguing glimpses of life in Istanbul. The hero's histrionics and the fact that the viewer can guess the solution to the "mystery" too soon lessen its impact. But the attention to detail, taking us into this world of Artful Istanbul Dumpster Divers, holds one's interest throughout. While it gets far too overdramatic at times, the characters do enough to make you care. Paper Lives starts strong, holds on pretty well, then blows it hard at the end. Guess what did I mention the events of Paper Lives occur in a place called Struggle Alley? So it’s not always subtle, but its heart is in the right place, aiming for warmth and a bit of charm and winding up with some beefy drama, heavy emphasis on the melo-. Abused kid, ailing man it all seems to be steering to a very sad place, and we gird ourselves accordingly. Problem is, the film amasses plenty of goodwill before it torpedoes itself with some third-act shenanigans that some will call clever plotting but the shift for other's calls it ridiculous as a pig in a Porsche!
