The Boy who stopped talking = De Jongen die niet meet praatt

The Boy who stopped talking is the story of Memo, (Ercan Orhan) a nine-year-old child living in eastern Turkey in a small traditional Kurdish village. Memo has the important roles in the village of postman, which also involves reading the mail to the illiterate, and shepherd. He lives there with his mother and young sister whilst his father works in The Netherlands in a shipyard. Memo’s happy, innocent existence is thrown into chaos one day when his father decides to relocate the family to The Netherlands to escape the dangers of the oncoming war in Turkey. Memo responds to this unhappy event by deciding to stop talking. A subplot involving illegal immigrants exposes their vulnerability and their exploitation at the hands of shady business owners. This gently observed film explores the effects that cultural dislocation has on children and their families. A local boy and classmate, Jeroen, tries to befriend Memo and aid his assimilation into school life. Memo resists his father’s imploring to break his silence, longing for his village, which is being ravaged by war. In Turkish and Dutch with English subtitles.