Fatih Akin is one of the best film directors at this time and with 24 awards under his belt it seems that audiences around the world agree that Akin will make an impact on the film industry. Akin's talent is most notable for his honest look at life: prosaic, unpredictable, and most of all passionate.
"Head On" (2004) has the potential to be a typical romance film at first glance, but Akin is always careful to steer away from the expected. Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a middle aged man who breathes to live at his dead-end job but no longer lives with a vigor for every breath he takes. Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) is part of a strict Turkish family and cannot possess freedom until she is separated from her family. Both Cahit and Sibel attempt to end their lives and meet at a rehabilitation hospital. As soon as Sibel discovers that Cahit is Turkish she pushes him to marry her. Eventually Cahit agree to the marriage, knowing that Sibel is merely using it as an alibi to escape from her family and fulfill her dreams of a passion filled life.
This may sound like the set up for a typical romantic comedy: complete strangers enter a marriage for convenience and promise to never be physically involved with one another and pursuing other love interest. Akin is very careful about avoiding cliches and giving the audience the bitter side of life.
As the relationship between Cahit and Sibel evolves, the two fall in love and Cahit accidentally kills one of Sibel's lovers. Cahit is then sent off to prison and Sibel vows to wait for him until he is released. Of course, life is not as patient and Akin is prepared to rub the salt on the romantic audience. There are many unexpected twists in "Head On," not because it is unexpectable in life but because it is unexpectable for a movie to be so raw.
Not only is "Head On" visually beautiful, but it also heavily relies on musicality. Without music, film loses a certain emotional strike and Akin is the first to admit the importance of music in his film: "Film is a two-dimensional thing, but when you add music it becomes three, four, even five-dimensional."
If you enjoy "Head On," check out his other films such as "The Edge of Heaven." Fatih Akin is definitely a director to be on the look out for in the foreign film genre.
Comments
This is an excellent film. One of the better films of 2004 fo' sho'.
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