Two more down, two more to go. I'm getting them done as quickly as I can. If you can catch some of these in your hometown, I suggest you do so. Also keep an eye out for them at your local video shop. Foreign films are good (sometimes). With that said:




Head On
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

At a psychiatric ward in Hamburg, Cahit meets Sibel, and his life will never be the same. She’s trying to convince Cahit to marry her, so that she can move out of her parents’ house and live life the way she wants to live it. That includes late nights of partying, anonymous sex with anyone but her husband, and not having to answer to anyone. In return, he gets his life cleaned up (as well as his apartment). The two seem like a very unlikely pair. Can these two swerve around each other’s lives and stay on the same road without colliding head on?

Stupid joke aside, this movie does take on some very interesting directions. Plenty of unexpected twists and turns await both of the main characters. Writer/director Faith Akin gives us a very gritty film that refuses to shy away from some very harsh moments. Blood and violence mean nothing. Sibel slits her arms as if it were an everyday thing. It comes so quickly and realistically that it jars the audience and makes us squirm. We are forced to face harsh scenarios that are treated in the appropriately uncomfortable manner. It’s tough to separate yourself from the screen.

The characters are very complex and tough to get a good read on them. They are just as confused and as clueless as we are. Birol Ünel (Cahit) and Sibel Kekilli (Sibel) do great jobs of handling some difficult, emotionally intense scenes. They embody the unpredictable nature of the characters as well as their desperation and defeat and odd bouts of optimism. Especially surprising is Kekilli, whose previous work has solely been pornographic. She shows she still knows how to get undressed, but can also take on a big, hard to swallow part (that’s not what I mean).

Not everything is handled as well as the acting and the script. I had slight problems with the structure. The time frames are a little sketchy at certain moments and it’s a little disorienting (although that could be a conscious decision). Also the film starts off with a brilliant motif using blinding lights, but that sort of fades away within the first fifteen minutes. It would have been nice to see that called back. There are also chapter separations with a band playing along a river shoreline and a woman singing cryptic, yet somewhat fitting lyrics. They seem out of place, because they are so cheery and optimistic and beautiful. It’s like comic relief mixed with Greek Chorus and to me is a little too awkward.

These are just nitpicky items of contention and fall to the wayside when considering the picture as a whole. It’s as fascinating as a tragic car wreck, which is appropriate, since the film starts with one. You can’t take your eyes off it, nor will you want to.


+++++++


The Waiting Room
Review by Jon Waterman

*

Ahmet is an extremely popular director who has won critical acclaim and a large fan base. He’s currently working on a film adaptation on Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” The script is probably ready, but the project seems to be missing something. Ahmet is in deadlock with himself and is on the verge of tossing the production completely, when he comes across a young man trying to rob his house. He lets him go, but later thinks that this could be the answer to his long, sulking nights. Now, in order to save the film and his mind, Ahmet must search the city to find this criminal (and convince him to act).

Writer/director Zeki Demirkubuz also plays Ahmet. Perhaps this was one too many tasks for him to take on this time around. The film just doesn’t do it for me. For one, I hated the main character. He’s a total jerk to everyone he comes in contact with. He’s completely self-serving and I don’t know how any audience member could possibly sympathize with him. Perhaps this is Zeki’s idea of a general commentary about filmmakers. Even so, that doesn’t make it any more entertaining or interesting. Because we don’t even want to like the guy we’re going to spend the length of the picture with, we don’t care about the film as a whole.

The movie is called “The Waiting Room” for a reason. You’ll be waiting for something to happen. For a long long time. There are many time consuming shots, which I would contend were included to get the film up to a normal feature length of 94 minutes. I can understand that it’s supposed to convey loneliness and despair and all that great, melodramatic stuff. But here’s the thing: It’s boring! Maybe if the cinematography was a little more interesting or even properly conveyed the thoughtfulness of Ahmet, it would be better. As it stands, there are a couple of unique shots and some slightly appealing lighting choices that get overshadowed (forgive the pun) by the tiresome wait. The last shot of the movie was so excruciatingly painful to watch, simply because it was obvious that it would be the closer, yet it refused to cut to black.

It’s supposed to be about making a movie, but it’s more about us making sense of Ahmet. That much I can respect. The rest, not so much. I’m trying to figure out the significance of “Crime and Punishment.” Having not read it doesn’t help. So far, I think it’s meant to convey the audience’s feelings by the time they walk out of the theater. This one drained me. Don’t wait around. Move on.