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Birol Ünel, Catrin Striebeck, Guven Kirac, Meltem Cumbul, Sibel Kekilli

40-year-old Cahit is brought to German psychiatric clinic after attempting suicide and sets out to start a new life, even as he longs for drugs and alcohol to numb his pain. Sibel is young, pretty and...( read more  read more... ), like Cahit, Turkish-German. She lives a lifestyle that is a bit too wild for her devout, conservative Muslim family and fakes a suicide attempt to try and escape them. But the incident brings shame upon her family, who insist that only marriage can save her. Sibel begs Cahit to marry her and he reluctantly agrees, perhaps in an effort to save her and to find meaning in his own life. Initially the two share an apartment and little else as Sibel sees other men and Cahit continues to have flings with his on-again, off-again girlfriend. Gradually, however, Cahit begins to fall in love with Sibel and she, in turn, comes to realize that she loves him - but not before an incident of jealous violence tests this fledgling romance. When Cahit is sent to jail and Sibel flees to Turkey, her heart, mind and soul remain with him - but for how long?

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94% liked it

14,019 ratings

Critics

90% liked it

80 critics

R, 2 hr. 3 min.

Directed by: Fatih Akin

Release Date: January 21, 2005

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DVD Release Date: September 13, 2005

Stats: 799 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (799)

  • susanriley
    June 5, 2009
    susanriley
    A sexy, intriguing film.
  • rubystevens
    February 13, 2009
    rubystevens
    a marriage of convenience evolves into punk rock romance. great film with alot of attitude, set in the turkish community in hamburg. i enjoyed the interludes of traditional turkish music, a nice juxtaposition with the non-traditional characters. once again, it's generally not ...( read more)a good idea to hook up with someone you met in rehab :P
  • Caltiki
    January 5, 2009
    Caltiki
    Damn fascinating existential drama, that takes place in the Turkish community in Hamburg.
    German-Turkish director Fatih Akin successfully brings us a brutally powerful story of immigration, love and self-destruction. Although I found the ending a bit weak in comparison with the ...( read more)adrenalinic and electrifying first part of the film, I consider 'Gegen die Wand' a unique, modern masterpiece.
  • ebs90
    December 10, 2008
    ebs90
    Can't believe I hadn't written about Gegen Die Wand yet!!! I'm pretty sure it's one of my recent discoveries that I most love and I count it among my favorite films.

    Fatih Akin's film is about a self-destructive Turkish man and a self-destructive Turkish woman in Germany, who...( read more)se paths meet and who decide to marry out of convenience, only to discover -with tragic consequences- that they helplessly need each other from then on. It's fascinating to observe how the dynamic inside their dubious marriage changes as they begin to know each other more and more, and how they struggle to be flexible and accept the turn that their lives have taken. Akin takes both characters, Cahit and Sibel, from one extreme to the other of the emotional scale; both of them set out as moody, impulsive, self-deprecating, and unstable, only reaching their balance point when they are together. They are troubled, suffer from multiple addictions, and reluctant to accept responsibilities or sacrifice themselves too much. Theirs is a relationship in which the first they ever saw of each other was their worst side, and one that evolves towards discovering the best. They both teach each other things they would've never learned otherwise, and the film ends accordingly: not romantically, not ideally, not tragically, but exactly the way it should.

    I love the way the film is written and made. This story could have easily been corny if not told properly, or, on the other hand, too dark for its own good. Akin's take is refreshingly real, straying away from sentimentalism or naturallism. The film is also shot beautifully and it's full of gorgeous Turkish music (as well as new/no wave).

    At the core of the film, and above all else, are Birol Unel and Sibel Kekili's soulful performances. Both are completely absorbed by their characters and both manage to enhace their beauty (which, sometimes, is hard to believe that may even be there at all) as in making them relatable, if not comprehensible. Birol Unel is... in my opinion... captivating.

    In few words, Gegen die Wand is a great movie and it can be appreciated for the quality of the performances and the direction, but it resonates with me very much and that is the main reason why I feel so drawn to it and why I recommend it. I think it's very honest, raw, and yet not a disgusting or depressing film. Despite all the tragedies that may occur to them, the characters are survivors and are left with the memory of a life-changing experience that one could only wish to have. It speaks about how fast the world turns and how uncertain life is, how you can find things where and when you least expect it. And it talks about how people can change. Deep, yes, but not tiresome (on the contrary!) and not preachy. Wonderful.
  • her69eyes
    November 2, 2008
    her69eyes
    I saw "The Edge of Heaven" a few weeks back, and instantly added "Head-On" to my NetFlix queue. How couldn't I? By diving into the repertoire of writer/director Fatih Akin, one thing is certain - the masterpiece of "The Edge of Heaven" was certainly no fluke. Fatih Akin is a dire...( read more)ctor to be cherished, one who creates films that resonate long after their finished. Films that give you a brand new sense of reality and a new sense of awareness. With characters that would seem at home in a film by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and material that almost shadows Kieslowski (particularly in "The Edge of Heaven"), Fatih Akin is certainly proving himself to be one of the most exciting young directors in the world.

    "Head-On" was met with a universal rave response in Germany, taking home both the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as five Lolas (pretty much the German equivalent of our Oscars) for picture, director, actor, actress, and cinematography. It's a bit surprising that this film didn't get much mainstream attention or garner an Oscar nomination as it's certainly the kind of film that the Academy eats up.

    Cahit (Birol Unel) is a self-destructive loser who spends his time picking fights at the bar he cleans up for. He's in his 40's, although his rough skin and worn features suggest that he's grown far past his age. A punk-rock fan who dons posters of bands such as "Siouxsie and the Banshees" on his walls, Cahit seems professional depressed. One night, he drives his car into a wall and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital due to the fact that there were no skidmarks. It's at this hospital that he meets Sibel (Sibel Kekilli), who introduces herself following a proposal to marriage due to their shared Turkish descent.

    Sibel is a free spirit that's been suffocated by her protective family. She's in her early 20's, and seems only content when she's found a bedmate for the night. Her bandaged wrists certainly give us a clear sign of what she's been admitted for. When Sibel learns Cahit is Turkish, she begs him to marry her - only finally convincing him enough when jabbing a broken bottle further into her wrist. Her family wouldn't accept a non-Turkish husband for their daughter, and since Cahit certainly doesn't have much else to live for she feels he's a perfect candidate. Their agreement is simple - she'll cook, clean, and do the laundry, and he'll have to wear a facade as a loving husband every so often for the family. The two agree to a sexless marriage, although given the two personalities you know that it won't be lasting too long.

    Structurally, this material is not too unfamiliar. We've seen stories like this one - with an outside influence reawakening a man who seems to be at his most hopeless. And, of course, they have to fall in love to some extent. But what makes the film so enjoyable for the first hour or so is how legitimate and mature the relationship is, and how true the characters remain to themselves. A Hollywood version of this film would see Cahit, who previously had beaten a man with a stool in a bar, having a blast throwing darts at balloons when Sibel takes him to a carnival. There's some melodrama here, particularly in the film's final act, but the characters are realistic enough that we never feel blatantly manipulated.

    Both lead performances are absolutely mesmerizing. Cahit is such a loser that it's incredible we care for him - thankfully, Unel is charismatic enough and shows enough bits of humanity that make him a self-destructive dope we can root for. The real story of the film is Sibel Kekilli, who made the transition from porn films to motion pictures. She's a lovely presence on a screen because of her delicate features, however she has enough of a dominating personality that she never feels like a "damsel in distress". There's a scene near the end (that I felt was a bit overboard) where she picks a fight with a couple of hooligans in a street, and her passion, aggression, and fire makes more a feminine asskicker statement than any Lara Croft-esque action star.

    I liked that "Head-On" seemed to constantly evolve - we always had an idea of where the story was going, but there was always a question of how it's going to get there. Around the half way point, when Cahit disappears for awhile (which may or may not be a spoiler), the film starts to drag and lose it's focus... but there's enough by the end that it drags us right back into the relationship. This is a carefully constructed character study that is incredibly well acted, directed, and written. The Fatih Akin bandwagon is sure to grow infinitely in the next few years.
  • vkelman
    January 19, 2010
    vkelman
    I was surprised to see a movie by Turkish director ( Fatih Akin) to show so frankly dark sides of traditional Muslim mentality, to reveal how young Turkish men in Germany manage to combine their traditional believes with dirt speeches about prostitutes. Remember Cahit's question,...( read more) "Why don't you guys f-ck your own wifes" and their reaction? Next to Cahit I wonder how this false and dishonest survives together with tradition and believe. As almost any Russian-speaking man who encounter Chechen guys, I saw similar behavior there.
    Birol Unel (who plays Cahit Tomruk) is wonderful actor, Sibel Kekilli (plays Sibel Guner) is beautiful and talented too. They both strike by their frantic characters and their unstoppable will to freedom (Sibel!).
    At the same time, Fatih Akin managed to keep this story very realistic and moral too. I really like this movie.
  • jschartrand
    December 27, 2009
    jschartrand
    L'amour fait mal, l'amour fait mal, l'amour fait mal-mal-mal. Rarement aura-t-on vu le fait être autant pris aux mots. De plus, rarement aura-t-on vu un film exprimé avec autant de ferveur la spontanéité que provoque le sentiment en soit. C'est donc découlant de ces observations ...( read more)que le film livre une histoire d'amour plutôt atypique, mais d'un réalisme et d'une brutalité tout autant choquante, perturbante, intrigante que touchante. La réalité fébrile et le jeu tout en nuance collabore au succès de ce très bon film.
  • rojastortu
    October 12, 2009
    rojastortu
    Punk meets Turkish culture. a violent, sexy, and mature movie that shocks the viewer, but overall one of the most original romantic movies in the past years. Provocative and visually fantastic, this is a movie not to be missed.
  • saoirsechick
    August 21, 2009
    saoirsechick
    Possibly the best film i've ever seen
  • sportsphenom1
    July 30, 2009
    sportsphenom1
    Not a bad effort by Fatih Akin, considering the low-budget video production available. However, this film pales in comparison to Akin's masterpiece "The Edge of Heaven", one of the best films ever made. "Head On" gains an extra half star for it's sobering ending and a cast of cha...( read more)racters that are masters of their game.

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Critic Reviews

April 10, 2006
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Ultimately more provocative than insightful. full review

April 8, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

... Well and fearlessly acted, and the writer-director (Fatih Akin) is determined to follow her story to a logical and believable conclusion, rather than letting everyone off the hook with a conventio... full review

April 2, 2005
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

This is not just pliable filmmaking; it is an exercise in worldliness, in a feel for the cracks and warps of circumstance, which is all the more startling when you learn that the director is thirty-one. full review

April 2, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Head On understands the tension between wanting to have nothing to do with the place from which you came and yet still, deep in your heart, somehow yearning for it. full review

February 3, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Head-On doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but it keeps you on edge, laughing nervously, appalled and, against all odds, entertained. full review

February 3, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Despite all its roiling melodrama, Head-On has its moments of sharply observed humor. full review

January 24, 2005
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

The story builds which such force that the fate of these unlikely heroes truly matters. full review

View more Head-On (Gegen die Wand) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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