Head-On (Gegen die Wand) (2004)
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90% of critics liked it
(83 reviews) -
92% of users liked it
(16,864 ratings)
German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin writes and directs the drama Gegen die Wand (Head-On). Set in a working-class Hamburg neighborhood, the story follows two Turkish immigrants who get together in a marriage of convenience. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünel) is a heavy drinker and a fighter who crashes… More German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin writes and directs the drama Gegen die Wand (Head-On). Set in a working-class Hamburg neighborhood, the story follows two Turkish immigrants who get together in a marriage of convenience. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünel) is a heavy drinker and a fighter who crashes his car into a wall. While visiting his psychiatrist, Dr. Schiller (Hermann Lause), he meets fellow patient Sibel Guner (Sibel Kekilli). She's desperate to get away from her restrictive family, so she asks Cahit to marry her. Wanting to change his life anyway, Cahit agrees to the arrangement. After their wedding, Sibel celebrates her freedom by drinking, dancing, and having one-night stands. Meanwhile, Cahit carries on an intimate relationship with hair stylist Maren (Catrin Striebeck). Eventually, Cahit and Sibel learn to care for one another after a climactic trip to Istanbul. Head-On won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Directed By
- Fatih Akin
- Written By
- Fatih Akin
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- In Theaters
- Jan 21, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Strand Releasing
Critic Reviews
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Akin makes this a most intriguing, if roundabout, journey from despair to 'do something.'
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Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
The power of Akin's film, which is considerably aided by the two lead performances ... comes from the spectacle of people developing feelings for each other even through numbing layers of mutual narcissism, self-loathing and raging terror of intimacy.
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Violent and sexy and funny and sad.
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Ted Fry, Seattle Times
A riveting love story that never flinches from the unsettling reality of a specific social issue or the universal joys that two people can bring to each other's lives, no matter how hard they try to bring agony to their own.
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Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
A portrait of passionate, all-consuming love born out of desperation.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Birol ??nel
as Cahit
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Sibel Kekilli
as Sibel
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Catrin Striebeck
as Maren
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Given Kirac
as Seref
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Meltem Cumbul
as Selma
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Cem Akin
as Yimaz Guner
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Aysel Iscan
as Birsen Guner
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Demir Gokgol
as Yunus Guner
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Stefan Gebelhoff
as Nico
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Hermann Lause
as Dr. Schiller
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Adam Bousdoukos
as Lukas
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Ralph Misske
as Ammer
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Mehmet Kurtulus
as Huseyin
- Güven Kiraç
