Film

In Bremen, Germany, a middle-aged Turkish prostitute called Yeter (Köse) says goodbye to Ali (Kurtiz), an elderly Turkish john, in their native tongue. The exchange is overheard by puritanical Muslim thugs, who warn Yeter to “repent.” The confrontation motivates Yeter to reconsider Ali’s offer to support her as his live-in courtesan. Initially, Ali seems like an affable old rogue, but booze brings out his dark side, and the ménage ends in fatal tragedy.

Hoping to atone for his father’s violence, Ali’s son Nejat (Davrak), an introverted academic, travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter’s daughter Ayten (Yesilçay). Ayten, however, has fled to Bremen to seek her mother and escape arrest for belonging to a left-wing revolutionary sect. In Bremen, Ayten falls in love with Lotte (Ziolkowska), an open-hearted university student, who, under the sorrowful gaze of her mother (Schygulla, in a miraculous return), absorbs Ayten’s passionate but nebulous political commitments, thus setting the stage for further catastrophe.

Turkish-German director Akin’s previous feature, Head-On, struck us as a histrionic mess. Similar insofar as they both address themes of cultural hybridity, Head-On and Edge could otherwise scarcely be less alike: Edge is a mature, stately, emotionally authentic and beautifully acted drama superior to anything we’ve seen this year. And don’t listen to anyone who compares it to Babel.