As the siblings start reminiscing about their mother, the tensions between them quickly become apparent; like a Pandora's Box which is spilled open, all the unresolved disputes are scattered around.

Eddie Cockrell, writing in Variety, describes the film as a, confident, satisfying drama and that, Helmer and co-scripter Yesim Ustaoglu brings a novelist's feel for pace and character development to a story that, at close to two hours, could wear out its welcome but deftly avoids drag.

He also writes that, French-born vet Tsilla Chelton gives a remarkable performance as an Alzheimer's-afflicted country matriarch juggled among a trio of urban Istanbul siblings, and, Ninety-year-old Chelton slips much deadpan humor into her otherwise utterly respectful portrayal, with other thesps fine in support.

He adds that the, Tech package is accomplished, with a trio of production designers creating persuasively authentic living spaces that point up the gulf between city and country, traditional and modern, and concludes, Pic's unemphasized clash between old and new provides fascinating glimpses of a country in transition.

Of all the characters, however, Nesrin with her upper middle class and invasive tension is the most developed, however, What is weak about Pandora’s Box, however, is that in its critique of an isolating, urban setting, it seems to long for a simpler, less complicated time and place.