Head-on

Genre: personal drama
Director: Fatih Akin
Release: 2005
Studio: Corazon International et al. - Strand Releasing
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.2/10


Love, Life And Country In The Balance


In a swinging German city, a Turkish immigrant named Cahit (Birol Unel) becomes so frustrated with his sorry life that he decides to end it all by crashing his car against a wall. When his attempt meets with failure, he finds himself in a clinic where he resists both psychological help and the insistent advances of a desperate girl named Sibel (Sibel Kekilli). After a while, he accepts the girl’s offer and begins a new life with her.

Such is the set-up for HEAD-ON and, at first glance, it does look less than promising. Generally speaking, marriage of convenience is not a new subject in moviedom; many forced pairings – either official or practical – have already been depicted on screen, mainly in the romcom genre. For this reason, I approached Fatih Akin's film with a fair amount of suspicion but it certainly proved me wrong after I got used to it. All you need is a little patience and, if you’re anything like me, Cahit and Sibel’s charm and that vibrant music score will keep you interested while the story gathers momentum. What I loved most about our hapless protagonists is that they are determined to live on their own terms, like true-blue rock ‘n’ rollers. Later on, as happens to all of us, their outlook on life will change (even spectacularly so) as destiny leads them on surprising paths… but that is for you to find out. I simply won’t tell.

The acting and production values here are first-rate and Fatih Akin must be commended for his astute direction. In this brave little flick and the more recent EDGE OF HEAVEN, Akin has chosen to show the uneasy existence of Turkish nationals in the Western world and his originality has not gone unnoticed. Here, our protagonists do struggle with their identity and, as such, the Turkish love song excerpted throughout the film could be construed as a distant call from home that must eventually be answered. The closing rock piece, while balancing the love song with its Western accents, offers a fitting conclusion to the couple’s powerful story.

So be it. Don’t miss HEAD-ON, a modern, frenetic and endearing film that never loses sight of its humanity.


MBiS

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