Paper Lives: A harsh Turkish Melodrama!

Paper Lives is a Turkish movie in which we follow Mehmet who makes a living out of collecting cardboard wastepaper. He has a warehouse in one of the poor neighborhoods in Istanbul where he keeps all the cardboard that he and his helpers have found in the streets in the Turkish metropolis. But Mehmet is ill, and he urgently needs a kidney transplant for which he is on a waiting list.

In the beginning of the movie, we see Mehmet in the middle of the night with his cart collecting cardboard from dumpsters and trash containers. However, the work is too hard for him and he collapses, and he is immediately rushed to hospital by one of his workers. When he undresses in the emergency room, we can see all the scars on his back which we gather come from his tough upbringing.

Mehmet is sent home again from hospital without any real treatment but the following day we see him in good spirits talking to everybody in his neighborhood. Apparently, he knows everybody and is well liked. When he arrives to his warehouse and is getting ready to do some bookkeeping, he suddenly hears noises from one of the carts. He examines the cart and finds a little boy hiding amongst all the cardboard because he is afraid that his stepfather will kill him. To save him from this gruesome fate his mother has helped him to flee.  

Mehmet takes a liking to the little boy as he seemingly recognizes himself and his own destiny in the boy. He promises to help the boy find his mother again and save him from his evil stepfather, but things do not always turn out the way you expect.

Paper Lives is a fine, warm but also cruel film. What makes the movie special is that it takes place in an environment which will be unknown to most people. The people you meet in the movie are also special. Despite the hard living conditions, they must endure they are tightly knitted to each other in a fraternity in which they are willing to sacrifice themselves. I hope you will enjoy this movie.

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