Head
On (***1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
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.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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