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Head-On

Gegen die Wand

Germany

2004

121 Min
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
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DIR Fatih Akin

PROD Fatih Akin, Andreas Schreitmüller, Stefan Schubert

SCR Fatih Akin

CAST Birol Ünel, Catrin Striebeck, Meltem Cumbul, Sibel Kekilli

Synopsis

Cahit Tomruk (played by Birol Ünel) is a German of Turkish descent in his 40s. He has given up on life after the death of his wife. Furthermore, the anguish in his soul continues to cry out for cocaine and alcohol to numb his pain. One night, he intentionally crashes into a wall (hence the title), and barely survives. At the psychiatric clinic he is taken to, Sibel Güner (Sibel Kekilli), another German Turk who has tried to commit suicide, approaches him. She asks Cahit to carry out a formal marriage with her out of the blue so that she can break out of the strict rules of her conservative family. Cahit is turned off by the idea at first, but then he agrees to take part in this plan. As Sibel tells him frankly that she prefers an independent sex life, they live as roommates with separate private lives for a while. They eventually fall in love, and things take a different turn as Cahit kills one of her lovers out of anger and thus he has to go to prison. While he is in prison, she goes to Istanbul, to which he follows her upon his release. Upon arrival, he finds that she has re-married and now has a daughter. Sibel’s cousin Selma does not tell Cahit how to find her, so he waits in a hotel for Sibel’s call. It eventually comes. He asks her to run away with him, and she agrees to, but never shows. The film ends with Cahit on a bus, presumably traveling to the town where he was born.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-On)

Director

Fatih_akin

Fatih Akin

Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage. He began studying Visual Communications at Hamburg’s College of Fine Arts in 1994. His collaboration with Wüste Film also dates from this time. In 1995, he wrote and directed his first short feature, Sensin – You’re The One! (Sensin – Du Bist Es!), which received the Audience Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. His second short film, Weed (Getuerkt, 1996), received several national and international festival prizes. His first full length feature film, Short Sharp Shock (Kurz Und Schmerzlos, 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award (Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films include: In July (Im Juli, 2000), Wir Haben Vergessen Zurueckzukehren (2001), Solino (2002), the Berlinale Golden Bear-winner and winner of the German and European Film Awards Head-On (Gegen Die Wand, 2003), and Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul (2005). —World Cinema Foundation read more

Wall

Displaying 4 wall posts.
Picture of Robert W Peabody III

Robert W Peabody III

8Feb10

Love is everything, no?  
Picture of definedivine

definedivine

18Jan10

Femme fatale!  

Deniz Akca

14Dec09

It tells much about the cultural conflicts of the Turkish youth and their conservative families living in Germany and I think, Akin is pointing out the identity of the female character Sibel whom grown up in that society and her journey in finding the freedom and love then the disappointment of losing it so soon. Good soundtrack, brilliant film.   
Picture of K L

K L

6Jan09

Such a beautiful, exhilirating film! Must be seen!  

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Venicesoulk184

The Auteurs Daily: Venice and Toronto. Soul Kitchen

By David Hudson on September 14, 2009
Updated through 9/22. Fatih Akin's Soul Kitchen won the Special Jury Prize in Venice and screens today, tomorrow and Saturday in Toronto. "So over-the-top boisterous that I initially misinterpreted
read article

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Untitled

By Alley PB on April 28, 2009

This film feels like a romantic epic, yet not one shot is gratuitous. Every camera movement, every color, every song choice rapidly propels you forward and further into the lives of the characters…  read review

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