De Jongen die niet meer praatte
Netherlands,
1997, 108 min
Shown in 1998
CREDITS
- dir
-
Ben Sombogaart
- prod
-
Burny Bos
- scr
-
Lou Brouwers
- cam
-
Piotr Kukla
- prod co
-
Bos Bros
- source
-
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, P.O. Box 26444, 1202 JJ Hilversum, Netherlands. FAX: 31-35-677-3586
- gga award
-
Golden Spire, Television: Children\'s Programs
OTHER
Anyone who’s ever experienced the upheaval and sadness that comes with leaving the place you’ve called home will appreciate the charm and candor of this heartfelt family tale. For young Memo, the concept of “home” is particularly significant since he’s a Kurd, a minority constantly in search of a homeland and frequently dispossessed of the claims they stake. Memo is perfectly content with his village life: goofing around with his best friend Mustafa, tending the sheep and working as the local postman. But when Memo’s father, Hüsnü, suddenly returns from Holland where he has been working in the shipyards, Memo’s life changes forever. After hearing of nearby villages being destroyed, Hüsnü has decided to take his family back to his basement apartment in Holland for safety. In protest—and perhaps even unable to voice the anguish he feels—Memo decides to stop talking altogether. Through their dingy street-level window, he strives to recreate the Turkish village he longs for. The language barrier, Memo’s silence and a cacophony of strange new devices such as hair dryers and doorbells make adapting to their new home a difficult prospect for the exiled family. But with the help of a new friend, an unfamiliar and seemingly hostile urban environment gradually becomes a world of new opportunities and a safe haven from the turbulence they have fled.
—Joanne Parsont
FACTOID #10
In 1960, Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, which has inspired many women to jump into fountains, was pulled from the San Francisco International Film Festival’s program by the distributor and replaced with Roberto Rossellini’s Night over Rome.
