Head-On

As a Turkish-American, my praise for "Head-On/Gegen die Wand/ Duvarlarla Karsi" is perhaps predictable and it does admittedly contain a degree of subjectivity. But, one must realize that Akin has succeeded where other talented Turkish-German directors have not. There was a genuine, noble effort called "Yara" (an earlier Turkish-German film) which demonstrates how hard it is to make a cross-cultural film which is universally accepted- one which is not isolated to either one country of origin (in this case Turkey or Germany) or the other. "Yara" had many great performances, and moving moments with wonderful cinematography, character acting, and an amazing film score, but it still did not meet its overall creative objective. "Head On" does just that though. Birol Unel and Sibel Kekili are profoundly amazing, as is Meltem Cumbul and the rest of the supporting cast. The film is also well-edited and it sticks to its complicated theme throughout. We really feel for everyone involved, even many (but, certainly not all)of the antagonists, and care about them. The film is brutal and harsh in its depiction of both Germany's cultural isolation towards immigrants and in backwards social mentalities in conservative Turkish circles which both oppress those who fervently oppose them and prevents those who challenge the mentality from getting past the discrimination which results from the darkest aspect of Anatolian life (which alas does not change with immigration). A tough film which should stand the test of time. But, it is not quite as profound as the Turkish film "Uzak/Distant" which was released here in the USA last year. Nor, did I enjoy it as much as another current German film "Downfall," which I (it alas seems to be a minority view) found absolutely riveting. But, along with "In July," there can be no dispute of Akin's talents which will be challenged by the high expectations many of us in the world Turkish community have for him. But, he has clearly earned that.