neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Head-On
	Fatih Akin Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Güven Kiraç, Meltem Cumbul, Zarah McKenzie, Stefan Gebelhoff 2004		Although informed by the Turkish immigrant experience in Germany and spiked with splashes of dark humor, "Head-On" is first and foremost a tragic romance between misfits. And it's a true heartbreaker, devastating and extraordinarily well acted. Dwelling in Hamburg (and squalor), Cahit is a burnt-out, older rocker type who's given up on life. He stays loaded on booze and drugs, whether he's at home, in the streets, or working as a busboy at a nightclub owned by a fellow Turk. An accident lands him in the hospital where he meets Sibel, a striking young woman who is so tired of her traditional Turkish family's oppressive attitudes that she has tried to commit suicide. When Sibel asks Cahit to become her husband in a sham marriage to liberate herself from her family, he reluctantly agrees. They move in as roommates. He accepts Sibel's stated objective to freely pursue sexual relations with other men, little realizing how his relationship with her will change him and transform his world. "Head-On" director/screenwriter Fatih Akin is also a German of Turkish ancestry. While his 2000 release "In July" was a winning on-the-road love story, his account of the star-crossed Cahit and Sibel shows he's capable of something deeper and more significant. But it's the mesmerizing, sympathetic performances of grubby Birol Ünel as Cahit and impish, sexy Sibel Kekilli as Sibel that give "Head-On" its authenticity and sincerity.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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