Vote on this title
Click on a gene to vote or discover related titles.
-
Mood:
- DisturbingRoughBleakEmotionalGloomyOffbeat
-
Plot:
- ImmigrantsHuman NatureObsessionDestructive RelationshipLove and RomanceMind and SoulMisfitCouples more...
-
Genres:
- DramaForeignRomance
-
Time/Period:
- Contemporary21st Century
-
Place:
- EuropeGermanyTurkey
-
Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically AcclaimedBerlin Festival WinnerPrestigious Awards
-
Attitudes:
- SeriousRealisticSlow
-
Flag:
- Drugs/AlcoholStrong Sexual ContentNudityProfanityStrong Violent Content
Does this gene fit Head-On?
Find it on:
| IMDb | |
| Rotten Tomatoes |
Head-On, 2004
German, Turkish, English
Germany, Turkey
Profile of Head-On
Head-On can be described as disturbing, rough, and bleak. The plot revolves around immigrants, a destructive relationship, and obsession. The main genres are drama, foreign, and romance. In approach, Head-On is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. It is located in Turkey and Germany. Head-On takes place in contemporary times. The movie has received attention for being a Berlin festival winner and critically acclaimed. Note that it involves strong sexual content, strong violent content, and drugs/alcohol.
Summary of Head-On
Fatih Akin's HEAD-ON (GEGEN DIE WAND) is a powerful film about sexuality and suicide, centering on two Turks living in Germany. Drunken loser Cahit (Birol Unel) drives his car into a wall; Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) slashes her wrists because she can't stand living with her traditional Muslim family. The two meet in the hospital and decide to join in a marriage of convenience in which he can get himself a cute young housekeeper and she can finally move away from home. They live together in Hamburg, where she begins to sleep around dangerously and he grows surprisingly jealous, leading to tragedy. Set to a soundtrack of 1980s music (Depeche Mode, Talk Talk, Sisters of Mercy), their lives continue to fall apart, lost to a world of lies and deception, drugs and violence, and emotional pain.
Filmed on location in Germany and Turkey, HEAD-ON is an intense look at two lost souls who can't stand life as they know it. They spend a lot of time in clubs, trying to drink and dance away their troubles, but they seem doomed to constant failure and unhappiness. Unel and Kekilli are shockingly realistic in the lead roles, adding to the overall poignancy of the harsh and disturbing film. There is a large Turkish contingent living in Germany, many of whom came over in the 20th century seeking employment; in HEAD-ON, Akin delves into the resultant changing cultures with deep insight in this moving drama.
Details
| Language: | German, Turkish, English |
| Country: | Germany, Turkey |
| Release date: | 16 October 2004 |
| Runtime: | 121 min |
Cast and Crew
as Cahit Tomruk
as Sibel
Photos
Clips
Critics Reviews
Los Angeles Times
- |
- by: Kenneth Turan
Chicago Tribune
- |
- by: Michael Wilmington
Users Reviews
- 06.September.2010
- |
- by: jamidwyer
- jamidwyer rated this movie7/10Good
- 20.October.2008
- |
- by: Nancy Higgins
- Nancy Higgins rated this movie
8/10Great
