Head-On (2004)

Head-On (2004)
Gegen die Wand (original title)
121 min


Country: Germany | Turkey
Language: German | Turkish | English


Director: Fatih Akin
Writer: Fatih Akin
Stars: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli and Catrin Striebeck

In 'Gegen die Wand' Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey has removed everything Turkish from his life. He has become an alcoholic drug addict and at the start of the movie wants to end it all. Sibel a 20-something female from Hamburg wishes to please her Turkish parents yet yearns for freedom. She has had her nose broken by her brother for being seen holding hands with a boy and yet she can not break her mother's heart and run away. She too attempts suicide and she first approaches Cahit there at the Hospital. Sibel asks Cahit to marry her, as she believes this to be the way out of her parent's house. She promises Cahit that their relationship will be like roommates, not like a married couple. The film follows Sibel and Cahit as they get married, become closer and eventually fall in love. Written by Serena P. (IMDB Page)

Head-On received generally positive reviews, currently holding a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "A raw, provocative drama about star-crossed love and the lives of immigrants caught between the traditional and modern." On Metacritic, the film has a 78/100 rating, indicating "generally favorable reviews".(Wikipedia Page)

AWARDS:


"Best Film" and the "Audience Award" at the 2004 European Film Awards on December 11 in Barcelona, Spain.
The Golden Bear for Best Film at 54th Berlin International Film Festival) on February 14, 2004.
The Golden Prize for Best Actress at the Deutscher Filmpreis on June 18, 2004.
The Quadriga Prize on October 3, 2004 in Berlin.
The Silver Mirror Award for the Best Movie from the South at the Oslo Film Festival on October 16, 2004.
The Audience Prize at the 9th Festival de Cine on November 6-13 in Sevilla, Spain.
The Golden Bambi for the best shooting star at the 56th Bambi-Verleihung on November 19 in Hamburg, Germany
The Golden Gilde prize for the best German film of 2003-2004 at the Leipzig Film Fair.
The Goya Award for Best European Film of 2004, on January 30, 2005 in Madrid, Spain.

Rating: 90% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read: Metacritic.com

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