Gegen die Wand

'Gegen die Wand' in German, 'Duvara karsi' in Turkish, or 'HEAD-ON' in English is an explosive drama written and directed by Faith Akin, a movie that may be tough to watch, but a movie that has enormous impact. While other films have successfully addressed the particular problems that the immigrant Turkish community in Germany face, few have come as close to examining all sides of the on-going issues of displacement and the effects of familial dispersal in the face of a new culture.

Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a thirty-something lost soul, drinking and snorting himself into oblivion over the loss of his beloved wife. He lives in a slum, spends all his time in sleazy bars getting beaten up for inappropriate behavior until one night he drunkenly drives into a wall (?suicidal?) and ends up in a hospital where he 'meets' Sibel (Sibel Kekilli), a young woman who has again attempted suicide as an escape from her strict family's prevention of her having a life. Hearing Cahit is Turkish, Sibel nonchalantly suggests they 'marry': Sibel's only way to escape her family would be to find a Turkish husband. Though grossly mismatched, the two agree to an 'open marriage', they satisfy Sibel's family, and move in together. Sibel cooks and cleans Cahit's hovel, and then goes out and sleeps around. This arrangement eventually causes problems for each of them and Sibel moves to Istanbul to escape the horrors of the life she has chosen. Once alone, Cahit is confronted with the reality that Sibel is the only path to salvation for his tragic life and the story proceeds - or rather speed drives - its way to a heartrending finish.

The characters in the film are generally unlikable sorts, especially Cahit, but each actor does so well allowing us to observe the dreary world that faces immigrants in a fractured society that we end up having an amazing amount of compassion for their character creations. Director Akin makes this two-hour plus drama speed by with such solid purpose that it seems a short film. There is considerable nudity and the sexual encounters may be a problem for some viewers, but Akin's cinematographer Rainer Klausmann makes everything work toward the ultimate message of the film. An interesting touch is Akin's choice of weaving a chamber music group of a female vocalist with Turkish instrumentalists as a chorus to comment on the action and keep us mindful that, though the film for the most part is set in Germany, this is a very Turkish story! Grady Harp

Some people think this movie is about a culture immigrants (German, Turkish) But that is not the emphasis, the emphasis is about how low one can go, where does one hit the bottom, and a love intertwined in such a spiral. A magnificent tragedy, but it doesn't make you feel depressed, it makes you take a big deep breath in and damn and appreciate life at the same time. The actor and actress are magnificent so was the supporting actors. The director doesn't treat the audience as dumb nor as people who have to really think hard to get it. The sequence of events, the transition from scenes are magnificent.

The movie swept every possible film award in Europe and is sweeping rewards in North America and rest of the world. This this is the best foreign movie I've seen. PERIOD (.)

In St. Pauli, Hamburg, the alcoholic, drugged and hopeless German with Turkish roots Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünen) lives like a pig in a small dirty apartment and survives collecting empty bottles in the night-club "Der Fabrik". One night, he gives up living, and hits his car against a wall. However, he survives the crash and is sent to a clinic, where he meets Sibel Güner (Sibel Kekilli), a younger German Turk, with suicidal tendencies. Sibel is the younger daughter of a conservative Turkish family, and proposes a fake marriage to Cahit, in order to permit her to leave her family; in return, she would share the rent of the flat, and she would cook and clean the place, and they could have independent lives. Cahit accepts, but while living with Sibel, he falls in love for her, until a tragedy happens.

I saw "Gegen die Wand" yesterday and I am still very impressive with this powerful German movie. It is bitter, sad, heavy, unpleasant – but also an original and very realistic non-Hollywoodian love story. The location in St. Pauli, close to the famous Reeperban Street, could not be more perfect as the environment for such depressive story of losers. The precise direction of Faith Akin (obs: IMDb dictionary does not allow to write correctly the name of the director) is stunning, and the performance of Birol Ünen and Sibel Kekilli are outstanding and deserved nominations to the Oscar. When the character Sibel reaches the bottom of the well in Istanbul, Sibel Kekilli shines with a mesmerizing performance. Unfortunately we will never see Hollywood shooting this type of story, which is recommended for very special audiences. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Contra a Parede" ("Against the Wall")

I saw this film yesterday for the second time (I originally saw it last year) and loved it as much as I did the first time. This is probably my favourite film in the last 12 months so hence the need to say my bit. There is a wonderful, powerful, visceral quality to this film which is extremely rare in any art-form (lets be honest), so credit needs to be placed where credit is due - and it is due in huge amounts here. 'Head On' takes you on an emotional journey to the edges of the human experience, tempered by an nihilism and a soul-searching despair that feels all too real. These are not so much characters but real people with real dilemma's, and their life experiences oozes from every visible pore. The two central performances are bloody amazing and a reminder of what real acting (and characterisation) is all about. The direction is profound, not to mention the wonderful soundtrack (the Birthday Party track much appreciated!!). I can't say anything but complimentary things about this film and in my humble opinion is a modern-day masterpiece. On the small off-chance that the actors/producers/ director or anyone connected to this film reads this, congratulations on a fantastic piece of film-making!

"Head On (Gegen die Wand)" is a completely original love story and shames conventional Hollywood romantic comedies with its fresh take on love and loss as rich as Rhett and Scarlett.

The closest I can think of a dysfunctional couple meeting so oddly cute and playing out an unusual relationship is in Christopher Fry's "The Lady's Not for Burning" which shares self-destructive lovers. The German literal title of "Against the Wall" is more resonant of how they feel, but the American distributors probably thought that had too much political implication.

The completely self-involved he and she here are innately off-kilter because writer/director Faith Akin sets them within a diverse Turkish immigrant community of Germany, so that their personalities are circumscribed by cultural expectations and restrictions, she chafing against binds on women and he lost in the nihilistic punk rock underground.

The rocky journey of how they find their own individuality within their sexual and emotional needs and ethnic identity and what each means to the other is an unpredictable thrill ride as each unexpected action leads to tears, laughter, poignancy and regret of bad timing. This is a baldly brash and frank exploration of the meaning of love and marriage, as individuals and within a web of family, friends and culture.

Craggy-faced Birol Ünel is riveting as the older, burned-out case whose past we only glimpse. Sibel Kekilli at first seems like just another pretty young thing, but brings spunk and sympathy on her maturing roller coaster ride. Evidently, deleted scenes that are available on the European DVD help to expand on the hints as to what her closing motivations are.

Dependant on the English subtitles, I'm sure I lost some significances as I wasn't sure when characters were speaking Turkish or German, let alone able to discern their fluency in either, with the added fillip of recognition of globalization with a sudden concluding discussion in Istanbul in English of their future.

The chapter introductions by an ethnic band playing a traditional sad love song adds to the timeliness of the tale that is reminiscent of old folk ballads of tragic love stories. In between, the punk rock and contemporary world fusion selections are terrific, including the moving closing song.