Featured Audience Ratings

• William D

  
  [size=3]"The Edge of Heaven" is a magical film that must be seen. It didn't receive a strong distribution deal in the United States (big surprise), so it will take effort to find it. But it is so worth the work. [/size]… More
  [size=3]"The Edge of Heaven" is a magical film that must be seen. It didn't receive a strong distribution deal in the United States (big surprise), so it will take effort to find it. But it is so worth the work. [/size] [img]http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl0/1/17989/14_2008/heaven.jpg[/img] [size=3]Germano-Turkish writer/ director [b]Faith Akin [/b]is one of the true greats. He and Joachim Trier ("Reprise") are the two most exciting young filmmakers in Europe today (one born in 1973, the other in 1974). "Edge of Heaven" sneaks up on you. It starts out matter-of-factly and slowly builds. Its superb sense of cinematic rhythm is a throwback to the age of Ingmar Bergman. The film gradually gathers emotional power until it bursts like a storm cloud. The last 20 minutes contain some of the most moving images of redemption and grace as you are likely ever to see in the cinema.[/size] [size=3]"The Edge of Heaven" is the third-best film I've seen so far this year and is a must-see for anyone who cares about art. Immense thanks to Strand Releasing for getting this film into at least a few American movie theaters. What a terrifying statement about the current climate in America that a film of this quality can only find a distribution deal from the (heroic) micro-mini outfit Strand. Cinephiles all around the world are talking about this film, and America is barely interested.[/size] [size=3]The film opens in Germany, where we meet an elderly working-class man of Turkish descent and his highly educated son, who is a professor of German Literature. Both are single and lead a quiet life together.[/size] [size=3][img]http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/24/edge_of_heaven_wideweb__470x312,0.jpg[/img][/size] [size=3]The older man frequents a Turkish-born prostitute, who eventually becomes his live-in companion. The son quickly develops a deep respect for this woman, who was forced to abandon her daughter in Turkey and has struggled mightily to keep herself out of poverty in a foreign country and without education.[/size] [size=3]A terrible accident occurs, the details of which I won't reveal, and the young professor begins a fascinating journey back to his homeland. This journey involves a search for the prostitute's daughter, whom we get to know as well. She is involved in radical politics in Turkey and becomes a fugitive, escaping to Germany to try to find her mother. [/size] [size=3][img]http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/lff/files/images/edge_of_heaven_01.jpg[/img][/size] [size=3]In Germany, she falls in love with a young German woman, and we get to know this woman and her mother as well. The mother is played by legendary German actress [b]Hanna Schygulla[/b], who was Rainer Werner Fassbiner's muse, appearing in almost 25 of his films. [/size] [size=3]Casting Schygulla, who does a remarkable job in "Edge of Heaven," was a perfect way for Akin to pay tribute to the New German Cinema that Fassbinder and Schygulla launched in the 1970s.[/size] [img]http://cache.thephoenix.com/secure/uploadedImages/The_Phoenix/Movies/Reviews/The_Edge_of_Heaven4_inside.jpg[/img] [size=3]"Edge of Heaven" is a film about suffering, poverty, overcoming, and forgiveness. Every character left standing at the end of the film (there is a considerable amount of violence) bears some blame and must be forgiven for something. Watching these characters wrestle with grudges and grace is tonic for the soul. [/size] [img]http://tiff07.ca/images/films2007/705291553291386.jpg[/img]

• Gordon A

  
  Gorgeously shot tale with sumptuous locations and a pleasing symmetry to the narrative. A variety of atypical actors and scenarios give it a real freshness.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]Starting with a brief prelude at a gas station in Turkey, "The Edge of Heaven" is an exquisite movie that unfolds in three overlapping sections - Yeter's Death, Lotte's Death and The Edge of Heaven.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font]… More
  [font=Century Gothic]Starting with a brief prelude at a gas station in Turkey, "The Edge of Heaven" is an exquisite movie that unfolds in three overlapping sections - Yeter's Death, Lotte's Death and The Edge of Heaven.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Yeter(Nursel Kose) is a prostitute from Turkey making her living in the red light district of Bremen where she meets a fellow Turk, Ali(Tuncel Kurtiz), who hires her out for a half hour. Ali is a widower and pensioner whose son, Nejat(Baki Davrak), is a professor at the university. Feeling lonely, Ali offers Yeter a more permanent arrangement which she accepts after being threatened by two of her fellow countrymen on the street.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Lotte(Patrycia Ziolkowska) is a university student who runs into an activist, Gul(Nurgul Yesilcay), from Turkey who is in the country illegally after most of her group were arrested by the police after a protest. At first, Lotte feeds her new friend, then shelters her, much to the dismary of her mother(Hanna Schygulla).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Fatih Akin, "The Edge of Heaven" is a thoughtful examination of two countries whose governments may be very different(The first two sections start with a Communist protest in each country. Germany's is peaceful. Turkey's is not.) but whose peoples are remarkably similar, giving great hope for the future, even if there is heartbreak in the present. As Turkey seeks to become a member of the European Union, the characters' perpetual movement causes the boundaries to blur which is expressed in the Turks who threaten Yeter in Germany and the German bookstore in Istanbul. [/font]

• John B

  
  Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! One of the highlights for me of last year's Film Festival. Relationships...the ones we choose and the ones we fall into.

• Nicolas K

  
  A number of people started comparing The Edge of Heaven to Babel/Crash and other vertebrate type storylines alike. And even though there is a structural resemblance, the director Akin, a prodigy of immigration himself, makes a movie oozing nostalgia for home; in one thread home is… More
  A number of people started comparing The Edge of Heaven to Babel/Crash and other vertebrate type storylines alike. And even though there is a structural resemblance, the director Akin, a prodigy of immigration himself, makes a movie oozing nostalgia for home; in one thread home is the love of one's life, in another it is the country of origin, in the other one the bosom of a woman, and in another belonging to a cause. Notable mention should be made to the exceptional editing which invariably adds irony and suspense.

• Quinto W

  
  There are three very good stories to tell here, but the problem is they each deserved their own movie because as it is none of them feel fully realized; the characters aren't so much developed as they just change according to what the plot needs. Nevertheless, it becomes more and… More
  There are three very good stories to tell here, but the problem is they each deserved their own movie because as it is none of them feel fully realized; the characters aren't so much developed as they just change according to what the plot needs. Nevertheless, it becomes more and more interesting as it goes along.

• Richard F

  
  Brilliant, a masterpiece! One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Fatih Akin creates a tour de force Alejandro González Iñárritu style. Superior to "Crash" and "Babel", other films in this non-linear genre, "Edge of Heaven" doesn't use… More
  Brilliant, a masterpiece! One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Fatih Akin creates a tour de force Alejandro González Iñárritu style. Superior to "Crash" and "Babel", other films in this non-linear genre, "Edge of Heaven" doesn't use the non-linearity as a vehicle, but rather fits into it like a glove. This film has joined good company, along with "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams" for setting the standard for this style of film-making. The difference between this film and "Amores Perros" is that despite's "Amores Perros" more focused theme, "Edge of Heaven" flows more smoothly and is has a more multi-faceted set of themes. I can't say enough good things about this movie, other than it's as brilliant of a film as they come.

• Emily B

  
  A beautiful film about the overlapping lives of six people. Very thought provoking, with an excellent ensemble cast. After watching this I'm even more eager to watch Akin's Head-On.

• Ina S

  
  Quiet, subtle and emotional narration about family, death, radicalization and Turkish identity in Germany, Turkey and Europe. Slowly unfolds and then steadily increases in emotional impact, another excellent film by Fatih Akin. His use of time lines to convey the feeling of… More
  Quiet, subtle and emotional narration about family, death, radicalization and Turkish identity in Germany, Turkey and Europe. Slowly unfolds and then steadily increases in emotional impact, another excellent film by Fatih Akin. His use of time lines to convey the feeling of coincidence and fate is excellent, the acting and wonderfully simple dialogue (mostly in Turkish and English) is perfect.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings