Paper Lives

"They say that abandonment is a wound that never heals. I say only that an abandoned child never forgets." Mario Balotelli

Netflix takes us to the streets of Istanbul, Struggle Alley (!) as they call the area, in a neo-realist melodrama, Paper Lives, about child abandonment and love that knows no bounds. The paradox comes true as Mehmet (Cagatay Ulusoy), a solid waste warehouse owner and dumpster diver meets a homeless 9-year-old, Ali, and nurtures him with an intensity as if he were the boy himself.

Although Mehmet says he's concerned to find Ali's mother, he enfolds him like his own child with the self-knowledge that Mehmet himself had been abandoned. Although the psycho trauma of those involved in abandonment is apparent from the beginning, director Can Ulkay intersperses the claustrophobic with images of freedom and joy, such as Mehmet teaching Ali to swim or the two racing the streets pulling carts and picking up discarded paper and bottles. Paper Lives has little of Slumdog Millionaire's romance and none of Annie's unreal color, but these street urchin stories tug at the heart nonetheless. Around the world, the search of mom is a common theme, even in our superhero fantasies.

Although waste picking may seem about as darkly realistic as city slums could get, Mehmet's exuberance and his love for Ali make it seem like a holiday. However, spectral images of mothers and Ali's urge to return to his mother keep a tension that mitigates the boredom of their work.

As if being motherless were not enough, the film shows Mehmet suffering from a debilitating kidney problem and Ali hallucinating about photos where he mistakenly sees himself with his mother when Mehmet is the subject. The film has complicating layers such as the confusion of Mehmet as Ali that enhance the figurative embodiment of the two being one and the same. As a study in Turkish slums, Paper Lives is stark if not a bit over the top; as a testimony to the importance of stable family life, it soars. On Netflix

Çagatay Ulusoys performance is brilliant, but the plot was written a little bit lazy. Also saw the plot twist coming after half of the movie, but it didn't really help the story. The colors and settings were also not really supporting the sad tale about this poor people, would have been a 6/10 for me, but the actors were all great, and as I mentioned before, Çagatay Ulusoy should get an Oscar for his great acting.

This film broke me. It accurately depicts the living conditions of Istanbul's street life while wonderfully conveying the sorrow of the heartbreaking drama of a man who earns his life collecting trash. The acting and soundtracks were also amazing.

One of the best Turkish films I've watched lately. Would definitely recommend; it's worth your time.

And the ending my god...

6/10.

Or may I also say Hector Babenco - the author of PIXOTE - the Brazilian masterpiece speaking of poverty, ghettos and the urban jungle where it is a terrible struggle to survive. The most painful in watching this kind of feature is to think that there are tons of them which remain under the radar of the distributors and other festivals. Thanks to Netflix to release them. This movie is however a bit smoother than PIXOTE, though remaining very dark and gloomy. I also found a tiny relation between this film and Fritz Lang's MOONFLEET, because of the adult child relationship, a touching and poignant line for this unforgettable film. But maybe this is a bit too artificial, destined to make audiences weep. But that's my own opinion and that doesn't remove anything from this movie, that could have taken place in Mexico or any Central America country, where poverty spreads like a plague.

Good attempt to show the life of road side kid and kids from damaged family.