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DVD Head-On
Head-On, Fatih Akin's gritty drama, is like a great punk-rock song-- rough around the edges, but filled with heart. Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a middle-aged drunk whose apartment looks like the toilet in Trainspotting. Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) is a suicidal woman half his age, stuck at home with repressive relatives. They're two troubled Turks, adrift in Germany. A chance encounter at a psychiatric hospital represents a way out. If Cahit will marry her, Sibel can flee her family. They'll accept him, because he's Turkish. As for Cahit, he won't be alone anymore, left to mourn his dead wife and drink his life away. At first, things go as planned. Sibel moves into Cahit's dump and spiffs it up. The two live, eat, and party together, while continuing to see other people. Gradually, their marriage of convenience starts to resemble the real thing--until Cahit's violent tendencies get the best of him. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
This is a very hard-hitting movie. The story isn't great, but the execution is very powerful and the acting very impressive.
Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a disheveled (drug-sniffing) middle-aged Turkish-German, tethering on the fringes of sane behavior. Under the influence of drugs and gallons of alcohol he crashes his car into a wall and lands up into a hospital/psychiatric ward. Surprisingly, he gets away with a neck band and a limp. He runs into Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) who is struggling from identity crisis, marriage-hungry parents and family bonds. Sibel has an obsession to slash her wrists (mostly to prove her point and probably a way of stress-relief). Sibel kick starts the conversation by asking Cahit to marry her (because he is Turkish just like her). Cahit wards off her advances, but Sibel persists with her efforts and advances. However, her greater plan is to lead a carefree promiscuous life under the alibi of a marriage. She does manage to convince Cahit, who (unwillingly) has to shave his unkempt beard to visit Sibel's parents. After a bit of struggle, Cahit and Sibel manage to get married. However, this is an unconventional marriage and Sibel unleashes her hedonistic side filled with debauchery. Cahit, straightens up a little, but has spikes of aggressive and violent behavior. Sibel and Cahit continue to lead their own separate lives under the guise of their marriage.
However, slowly a bond starts to develop between the two and Cahit starts caring for Sibel. In a twist, Cahit runs into a slanger passing rude remarks about Sibel and he responds by rendering a fatal blow. Cahit gets a prison term and Sibel runs away to Istanbul to escape her seething parents. In Istanbul, Sibel has to do housekeeping chores to run a living and she starts getting pangs of identity crisis yet again. She responds by resorting to her promiscuous ways and indluging in drugs and alcohol. She runs into some street urchins who stab her over a minor squabble. She gets rescued by a taxi-driver. A couple of years pass and Cahit completes his prison term and rushes to Istanbul to seek Sibel (he now has a reason to lead a sane life). However, Sibel in the meantime has settled down with her resucuer and has a cute little daughter. Cahit manages to locate Sibel and both of them passionately want to start over with their relationship.
Cahit and Sibel plan to meet at a bus station and run away to start afresh. Sibel packs her bags, but cannot convince herself to leave her cute little daughter. Cahit expectantly waits for her in the bus, but Sibel doesn't come. The bus starts its pushback during the twilight hours and head out with Cahit alone. This climax scene is very poignant and has been executed beautifully (and in my opinion the best scene in the entire picture).
Worth it for completing your German movie collection
Pretty intense in terms of violence and blood.
Head-On creates Head-On collision for avid German Students
The Movie Head-On (Gegend die Wand), although amazing in its native form leaves something to be desired for the American who is fluent in German and not Turkish.
The movie itself is fabulous and is thankfully presented in widescreen, however the only two choices for subtitiles are English or none at all. Seeing as how this film has Two main spoken languages, it is difficult for the viewer to watch the movie without subtitles unless they are fluent in both German and Turkish. This movie has potential to be a great learning tool for German classes. I just wish it had German subtitles as well as English.
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