Five years after his trailblazing gay romance And Then We Danced, Swedish writer-director Levan Akin returns with Crossing. The Turkish/Georgian-language drama follows the journey of an uptight former teacher (Mzia Arabuli) in search of her long-lost transgender niece in Istanbul. Paths are crossed with a set of colorful characters in a grounded exploration of identity, sexuality, and forgiveness.
Multiple journeys collide in this moving drama. Crossing initially comes off as a road comedy when grumpy ex-teacher Lia (Mzia Arabuli) and young dreamy-eyed slacker Achi (Lucas Kankava) drive to Istanbul, hoping to find Lia’s niece who ran away years ago. Stepping beyond her conservative and transphobic background, the teacher is ready to right her wrongs. Meanwhile, Achi (Lukas Kankava) wishes to give up his ordinary life in Georgia and begin again in Istanbul, a city romanticized for ages. Also thrown in the mix is Evrim (Deniz Dumanli), a trans lawyer who actively takes up humanitarian cases in the city’s most repressed sections. With the different paths of these three leads literally and metaphorically “crossing” with each other, Levan Akin masterfully injects an equal dose of hope and sadness into his ambitious narrative. Even mundane incidents that seem of little relevance to the plot reveal the fragile sides of our broken characters. And just like how Lia never gives up her search for the niece she once shunned, the film keeps on glimmering with hope even in the face of some dark truths.
The touristic beauty and grim reality of Istanbul. Akin’s balance of tones is perhaps the most evident in the way cinematographer Lisabi Fridell brings alive the fabled Turkish city. All the Istanbul starter pack essentials are ticked off, from tourists sipping on tea in outdoor cafes to well-fed cats strolling the historic roads. But Akin doesn’t waste any time to also showcase the more claustrophobic corners of this Ottoman megalopolis as the lens shifts towards a duo of homeless orphans, corrupt cops reeking with transphobia, and the red-light districts that are vibrant in color but possibly lurking with lost souls like the protagonist’s niece.
An acting trio across multiple generations. Arabuli is in total control of her craft, playing a woman who must confront her old age and the futility of her past. In a particularly tender moment, we see her perpetually frowning heroine drink some local liquor and dance with her eyes closed to escape from her burden. The other two characters are equally well-cast in their cinematic debuts. As Achi, Kankava captures teenage angst from a place of innocence. Dumanli is masterful as Evrim, an NGO volunteer who is ready to ignore the city’s conservative attitudes and an unstable lover in favor of the people she represents in court. Crossing presents a trans lead who owns her identity, who is defined by her personality and her profession, and who is more than just a traumatic backstory.
Crossing proves how narratives on transgender identity and migration don’t always have to be exploitative. Levan Akin’s moving drama humanizes its characters with both heartbreaking and heartwarming results.
Watch Crossing