Head-On (Gegen Die Wand) - Fatih Akin (2005)

Director: Fatih Akin

Rating: 10/10

Alexander McKendrick once said that cinema is popular art, not fine art. Though the idealist cinephile in me does not agree to that view, I have to reluctantly subscribe to it because of the rest of me. And thus, a film that walks the fine line between popular and fine art, appealing to the intellectual and the ADHD suffering side of me, has got to be perfect. And that’s just what Head-On is.

The film opens on the banks of the Bosporus in Istanbul with the Hagia Sophia visible in the background prominently. A group of Turkish singers start singing folk songs. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Unel) is a self-destructive alcoholic, addicted to every other vice as well, mourning the loss of his dead wife. He works at a club as a bottle collector. One night, after drinking too much as usual, he drives his car into a wall at top speed. This scene, perhaps the most brutally shocking display of a suicide attempt on film, is built up with Depeche Mode’s addictive ‘I Feel You.’ It’s right here, at the onset of the narrative that the film grabbed me. And it didn’t let me go till its tragic/melancholic conclusion.

He survives the crash and is admitted to a psychiatric clinic. He meets Sibel Guner (Sibel Kekilli), another survivor of a suicide attempt at the clinic. She asks him to marry her. She comes from a Turkish immigrant family who are quite orthodox and highly conservative. And this is the only way, by feigning marriage a man of Turkish descent, that she can escape from their over-protective clutches and live a life she’d always wanted - one of promiscuity and independence. They marry and she spends their first night with another man. As agreed they share Cahit’s flat, putting up a facade of marital bliss, while both of them engage in their independent fantasies with others.

This arrangement doesn’t last long, he falls in love with her, and slowly she with him. But before they are able to admit it to each other, Cahit makes a fatal mistake. It is the consequence of this event that moves the narrative to the second act. And though the catharsis at the end is tragic, it is also strangely uplifting.

I saw this movie just before I left India and wanted to review it for a while. It is perhaps one of the most emotionally and intellectually engaging film that I have ever watched. A film that discusses self-destruction, struggle with addictions, immigrant pathos, the despair of guilt, the agony of memory, the inevitability and fragility of love. Amidst the chaotic vane life of the characters, there is the simplistic and nostalgic pull of their homeland. And the conflicts are not just personal, but cultural and yet universal. It is melodramatic, but rooted in arresting reality.

As Cahit and Sibel, Unel and Kekilli are unashamed of their portrayal, and they perform here without a bit of self-preservation. It is riveting to see these brilliant actors make you hate them and love them. Both very brave, and powerful performances.

The film draws much of it’s effect from a very impressive soundtrack. It’s a sound palette of contrasts, from Turkish folk songs to Electronica and Punk. The cinematography is hurried and vibrant. The camera feels alive and yet passive. The editing is fast paced with some very effective and energetic nuances. Technically and artistically, this film is flawless. And it is directed with passion and authority.

As an opinionated critic, I am often left unsatisfied by films because they are either too artsy or too pop (and then there are a large number of films that don’t fall in either category, but in a third one - crud). But this was a film that pleased every bit of me. This is fine art. This is popular art. And it’s a ball-gripping art at that.

[Links: International Trailer, I Feel You (Gegen Die Wand version), Sibel, Cahit]

[Note: You can check out 'I Feel You' in my Box.net widget.]