Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Head-On (2003)
Director: Fatih Akin
Movie review
From Time Out London
It’s easy to think we’ve seen all this before: the Turkish community in Hamburg, a clash of cultures, stern Islamic parents and rebellious youngsters… The same old deal. However, dismiss this movie at your peril since such cultural displacement isn’t its be-all and end-all, merely the starting point for a narcotically vivid love story shaped by wilful volatility as much as the pain of exile.Leather-clad late-thirtysomething loner Cahit (Birol Ünel, who looks like someone left a Turkish Iggy Pop in a skip) is stuck in a nowhere job at a Hamburg rock club, so it’s hardly a surprise he ‘accidentally’ drives his car straight into a brick wall. Recovering in a psychiatric hospital brings another fateful collision with the beautiful but obviously troubled Sibel (Sibel Kekilli), who bears the scars of conflict with her conservative family. She’ll do anything so she can take drugs and fuck who she wants, and marrying fellow Turk Cahit is one way out. If he’ll agree to tie the knot for show, the deal is that she’ll deliver wifely domesticity without consummating the union.
It sounds terribly rational, but she’s a little bit mental, he’s a little bit rock ’n’ roll, and pretty soon there are tears, blood and rage before bedtime, romantic redemption by no means prevailing against bitter experiences of self-destructive uncertainty. Cannily, the film sets its authentic scuzzball ‘cool’ in ironic context by inter-cutting traditional Turkish ballads filmed before a postcard Bosphorous, suggesting that these two have travelled so far their only safe haven may be with each other. Both the lead actors absolutely live these roles, as Akin’s punchy yet astute direction whirls us in their substance-fuelled passions while somehow allowing us the distance to ponder the explosive interaction of socio-cultural circumstances and personal fallibilities. It’ll put a lump in your throat and a knot in your stomach. This is max-strength film-making you can’t afford to miss.
Author: TJ
Time Out London Issue 1800: February 16-23 2005
User reviews of this film
-
- m said...
- Posted on Oct 22 2010 22:01 Like Wild at Heart but twice as heartbreaking. Powerful performances from BOTH leads in an intensely involving story.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Dan said...
- Posted on May 18 2009 19:18 Birol Unal shines as much as Sibel Kekili doesn't. Sometimes her acting is all right but mostly, it is disturbingly bad. She is brave with all the difficult scenes but not as brave as Unal who is wonderfully convincing. That's what I call a true actor. Kekili distracted me more with her horrible acting than anything else.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- e said...
- Posted on Nov 14 2008 02:06 not a good film with a weak sibel kekili throughout most of the scenes.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Meltem Cumbal, Cem Akin, Aysel Iscan, Gebelhoff, Hermann Lausse, Mehmet Kurtulus
Rated: 18
Duration: 120 mins
UK Release: Feb 18 2005
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing






What do you think?
Post your review now