Head-On (Gegen die wand)

 Gegen die wand (Head-on)

• Director: Fatih Akin
• Based on the book by Fatih Akin
• Cast: Birol Ünel, Katrin Streibeck, Sibel Kelkilli, Meltem Cumbul
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sadly, none of them
• Why? It sounded good.
• Seen: 21 May 2021      

       Cahit (Ünel), a widower, a mean drunk, a coke sniffer, a Turk living in Germany with nothing to live for, crashes his car.

       Sibel, a teenager, oppressed under her Turkish father’s strict code of honour, slits her wrists.

       They both end up under psychiatric care.

       Melodramatically and dramatically, she demands that he marry her. A pretend marriage to escape her father and brother. She just wants to live a little.

       He’s reluctant, even hostile, but somehow it happens.

       Just when you think it’s predictable, it isn’t. There are many twists and turns in this tale of two lost self-destructive people who try to find their way in an alienating world.

       Heavy stuff. And very good. 

4 ½ * of 5