Crossing

There's something entirely plausible about the performance from Mzia Arabuli in this poignant drama. She is the retired school teacher "Lia" who is determined to track down her niece now that her sister has recently died. She lives in Georgia, likes a drink or two, and thinks that "Tekla" has fled to neighbouring Turkey where she is able to live her life more freely. She is trans - and that's not a situation encouraged at home! "Lia" hasn't a word of Turkish, though, so she agrees to take local wide boy "Achi" (Lucas Kankava) with her as a sort of guide-cum-translator. The seedier side of Istanbul beckons for both of them, but what chance of tracking down one person in a city of millions? Fortunately, the young man can't sleep one night and...

Crossing is NOT a slick film, and no way it should ever be. This beautiful piece of work is ostensibly a story about down and out orphans, trans folks, and prostitutes. But it's not. At it's very core, Crossing is about 2 lost souls in search of themselves. Kudos to Levan Akin for couching such an incredibly rich subtext inside a script of contemporary issues, and doing it so well.

I'm giving this movie a 9, not just for the story, but also for the absolutely incredible job of Mzia Arabuli, and novice Lucas Kankava who rose up to her level in nearly every scene with her.