Head-On (2004)

As a Turkish-American, my praise for "Head-On/Gegen die Wand/ Duvarlarla Karsi" is perhaps predictable and it does admittedly contain a degree of subjectivity. But, one must realize that Akin has succeeded where other talented Turkish-German directors have not. There was a genuine, noble effort called "Yara" (an earlier Turkish-German film) which demonstrates how hard it is to make a cross-cultural film which is universally accepted- one which is not isolated to either one country of origin (in this case Turkey or Germany) or the other. "Yara" had many great performances, and moving moments with wonderful cinematography, character acting, and an amazing film score, but it still did not meet its overall creative objective. "Head On" does just that though. Birol Unel and Sibel Kekili are profoundly amazing, as is Meltem Cumbul and the rest of the supporting cast. The film is also well-edited and it sticks to its complicated theme throughout. We really feel for everyone involved, even many (but, certainly not all)of the antagonists, and care about them. The film is brutal and harsh in its depiction of both Germany's cultural isolation towards immigrants and in backwards social mentalities in conservative Turkish circles which both oppress those who fervently oppose them and prevents those who challenge the mentality from getting past the discrimination which results from the darkest aspect of Anatolian life (which alas does not change with immigration). A tough film which should stand the test of time. But, it is not quite as profound as the Turkish film "Uzak/Distant" which was released here in the USA last year. Nor, did I enjoy it as much as another current German film "Downfall," which I (it alas seems to be a minority view) found absolutely riveting. But, along with "In July," there can be no dispute of Akin's talents which will be challenged by the high expectations many of us in the world Turkish community have for him. But, he has clearly earned that.

Fmovies: 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.

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 fmovies. As I mentioned in the subject if you ask me to describe this movie only in one word, this word would be SINCERITY, or may be HONESTY.

Turkish people as a conservative society mostly do not get used to approaches towards Turkish culture in this movie by Fatih Akin. He successfully describes the boundaries formed around Sibel originated by her culture in an opposite-culture dominated country Germany. Fatih Akin has a free approach towards the life of Sibel surrounded by the WALLs built by her Turkish origin.

I believe the reason of the free & brave approach in Fatih Akin lies in his free social and cinematographical development as a later generation Turk at Germany. In Turkey, we have no chance to get that approach he has, from our local directors because of legal, social and market dominated factors in local Turkish cinema.

Besides movie tells a love story happened in an environment between, behind, among and surrounded by the WALLs. Sibel marries with an alienated looser man Cahit to break down the WALLs. But she forgot to plan about love. Love damages both of their lives in an unfortunate realistic way.

As a result, Gegen die Wand - Head-on - Duvara Karþý is a must see SINCERE movie by a Turkish director from German cinema.

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 (.)

This is one of the best love films ever made. Actually I'd call it 'the best' but some would accuse me of exaggerating but trust me it is much better than artificial and unrealistic examples of Spanish, French and Italian romance cinema. This film has a heart inside that pumps blood to every sequence of it. I think Faith Akin did a great job keeping this film organic and earthly.

There is despair, hope, love then despair and hope once again. I could easily relate to the characters. Speaking of characters, Birol Ünel is the most charismatic actor I've seen lately, he dominates the screen along with Sibel Kekilli. Sibel Kekilli is an angel, pure acting, it is unfortunate what she had to go through in real life but she is stronger than most people and she had to prove it many times. In supporting roles there is Güven Kirac, who is one of my favorite actors in Turkish cinema and Meltem Cumbul who provides good acting.

By the way despite of all the tragedy there is also ethnic humor in this film which goes hand-in-hand with the story. Especially the scenes with Birol Ãœnel and Guven Kirac are quite amusing, especially if you know Turkish.

Anyway, all I have to say is "I feel you, your sun it shines, I feel you within my mind, You take me there, You take me where the kingdom comes, You take me to and lead me through Babylon" ... I was riding in that car with Cahit.

Tebrikler Faith Akin, WE WANT MORE OF THESE!