Contra a Parede

Turkey premier of the movie has been held here just a few days ago but even before that all the attention was taken on the pornographic past of the lead actress neither on the golden bear nor on the success it has gained internationally (Which I hated the way media approached) ... I have seen it recently and should say its a must see movie. A classic story of the 3rd generation of Turks in Germany outlined very well around a love story. Lead actor Birol and Sibel Kekilli have done a good job . The basic story takes you in and makes you feel all the sadness, craziness, happiness, joy and deep depressions of the characters. The bitterness of the reality spread all over the movie and kind of depressing. The story is also politically and socially a very good point expressing maybe thousands of peoples true lives stucked between two cultures. I would love to watch it once again. This was Sibel's first movie and I believe she will be a very good actress and wishing her luck;

I admire her posture towards all the criticism so much .

I haven't watched such a great movie for a long time and it is really great to see that this is a Turkish movie. After Nuri Bilge Ceylan's success with Uzak in Cannes Film Festival, Fatih Akin made a very successful move in contributing to Turkish cinema. First of all, the movie explains the life of the Turkish immigrants in Germany in a perfect way. We see how they cannot be neither German nor Turkish anymore. They are stuck in between and they act as punks. For instance, it is really true that most of the young Turkish people in Germany cannot speak Turkish, like Cahit. We also see the ridiculous pressure of Sibel's family: For instance, while her married brother threatens&beats her whenever she has a boyfriend, he and his friends can comfortably speak about how they sleep with prostitutes! Also the cast is very good, especially Sibel Kekilli and Birol Unel. I loved the scene where we can see the smile in Sibel's eyes in the amusement park: she is so much in love... In addition, there are so many things to say about the movie.. The story is a very striking one itself. The hopelessness of the characters in a world without love and moral values are explained so well-without making it dramatic. Also, Sibel's life in Istanbul, her cousin's life-like many of us: still single and waiting to be promoted!- are also judgements beside the main genre. The music is also very nice, with Depeche Mode and also traditional Turkish music. Faith Akin has really made a good job.. The script is excellent and the scenes are all pieces of artwork. I wish the best for him and all the cast and I hope to see movies perfect like this in the future too...

This movie surprised me, because although I had read that it was good, it exceeded my expectations. The characters felt authentic and possessed believable strengths and weaknesses. The actors turned in powerful performances and I find myself, the day after I saw the film, still thinking about the plot but mostly remembering the expressions on the actors' faces.

The movie did seem a little too long, but in trying to think of scenes to cut, I realized that nothing in particular felt superfluous or irrelevant to the storyline or character development.

Finally, I didn't like the end! But that's probably because I've been ruined by Hollywood with its sappy happy endings. This film ended as it should, and probably as it had to.

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 (.)

'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