By Deborah Young, VARIETY

Based on a famous novel set in eastern Turkey in the '30s and '40s, "Please Don't Go" is a gentle story about two gentle women - a beautiful, mentally retarded girl and the housekeeper who looks after her. Set against the backdrop of armies and distant wars, this period pic is surprisingly engrossing, thanks to fine acting by the principals and the light touch of helmer Tunc Basaran.  ...

Triandaphilis (Olivia Bonamy), the blossoming teenage daughter of a rich arms dealer (Fikret Hakan), is ignored by her socialite mom but mothered by the warmhearted Sultan (Isik Yenersu). Despite the girl's mental handicap, her beauty attracts the attention of a young French soldier. Sultan seconds their love, but shifting borders separate the pair. Just as the family is frantically packing to leave the country, Triandaphilis runs away to find her lover. Brokenhearted, Sultan and her husband stay behind to wait for the girl.

Yenersu conveys Sultan's loving, selfless disposition and the affection that binds her and Triandaphilis with steady conviction, never falling into pathos or sentimentality. Bonamy shows remarkable sensitivity in the role of the girl, going beyond fresh good looks to give her an otherworldy gracefulness that sets her apart from others. Helmer Basaran uses extreme delicacy in depicting this intimate female universe where the men are abstract figures who flit between wars.