Head-On (2004/2005) AKA Gegen die wand
This is one of those flashy, up-all-night-at-a-rave,
cool colors and music, lots of dark night, implausible,
impossible, Eastern European films that seems so hip
and cool right now. It's German and has something
to do with Turkish people living in Germany when you
consider its grand scale. Of course, as stupid American
viewers, we know nothing of the cultural riff this
film is getting at. If there is some societal message
in the big picture here it goes right over the head
of a ignorant American like myself.
What's left is a crazy and ridiculous
story about a 40- something Turkish man who denies
his heritage and hooks up with a 20-something Turkish
woman who wants to get away from her family. Both
of them are in a mental institution when the film
begins and rightly so. Both of them are suicidal.
The man is somewhat violent.
The woman convinces the older man
to marry her so she may leave her family (with a Turkish
husband) and, once you are forced to buy into this
ludicrous notion, the story revolves around their
living together. The guy's a jerk. The girl's a numskull.
We never really care about them. From here on in,
since we have obviously so easily bought into this
ridiculous premise, the plot takes so many wild and
unbelievable twists and turns that it could become
an amusement park ride.
While the acting here is excellent,
the visuals neat, the music cool (especially the cover
of Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It" that permeates
the last ten minutes of the film), and the cultural
landscape interesting, the wild script makes for an
uneven story. We never know what the hell the main
characters are thinking and rarely understand what
their motivations are.
Writer/Director/Producer Fatih Akin
(a guy - it's FATIH not FAITH) was born in German
to Turkish parents over thirty years ago and he obviously
has some issues with his heritage. As a stupid American,
I didn't get it. As a smart film lover, I still didn't
get it.
Notes:
In German and Turkish with subtitles
as well as a few lines in English (usually without).
The film was nominated for and won
a slew of European film awards.
Filmed in Hamburg and Istanbull.
Released in early 2004 in Germany
and Turkey, the film played in several U.S. film festival
later in the year. An arthouse run began in New York
and L.A. in January of 2005.
Viewed on a VHS tape provided by
the distributor and the Dobie Theater in May of 2005.
