Head on… Into the wall ( Gegen die Wand )
I went to watch this movie yesterday, it is honestly one of the most provocative movies I have seen in a while, it won the top prize at the Berlin film festival, and was named the best European movie of the year….
The idea of the movie is a classic story of Turks in Germany who are struggling for sense of belonging. The story however is everything but classic….A spirited girl who wants to break free from the imposing repression of culture represented by her religious family who tries hard to maintain their integrity in a society that is so different. A 40-something Turk whose heritage brings him so much pain and who does not know how to deal with his own demons. They meet in a mental institution following suicide attempts Cahit (Birol Unel) is in his 40s, driven by grief…he finally tried to end it all by driving his car into a wall.. Hence the name of the movie (gegen die wand or into the wall). Sibel ( Sibel Kekilli ) is a beautiful but somewhat unbalanced woman in her 20s who is there after trying to slit her wrist. Once she finds out he is a Turk, she proposes and uses very unconventional methods to convince him….They get married only to realize the meaning of true and unconditional love.
What is different about this movie is the love story itself… it captures the beauty of pure human feelings, true passion that is infused with fear, joy, desperation, happiness, in a mould of self destruction, alcohol, drugs, unattached sex. … The passion in that movie can not be ignored….
I can’t stop thinking about the ending. I can see how it makes sense from an artistic integrity point of view Fatih Akin didn’t want a Hollywood ending… but…it’s just too unsettling…. in particular I think Sibel looks like a shadow of her former self, it’s not just the short hair, no make up and the plain clothes, but she just looks so resigned ….and Cahit ….well he is still have not reached the hoped for peace… I am not going to say more. It is better to watch the movie!
I am looking forward to the DVD release. The movie has been in my Netflix queue for some time now but I almost forgot about it! Glad to hear it is a brain-stimulating film and thanks for the reminder.
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sorry, i'm not used to commenting on LJ
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Iyas… it is absolutely GOOD…. I recommend highly, and when you do watch it, tell me what you think.
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Sure will…They haven't set a release date for the DVD yet. It is one of the ones I am eager to see released soon, along with “Westbank…Brooklyn” which is taking for ever!
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i saw the movie on saturday night and i can't stop thinking about it. the ending, in particular, really drives me crazy. I have since had endless conversations with my husband about ways in which it is uplifting (mainly I guess the fact that Cahit is no longer a self destructive alcoholic and that he has somehow come to terms with his turkish roots)… but…it's just too sad. also sibel ends up living the life she tried so desperately to escape. and for Cahit, even though he says to Selma that he is not strong enough to destroy Sibel's life (so i guess he was anticipating that she would not go with him), it's a huge loss all over again. he has lost 2 beloved wives not one, let's not forget.
also, i wonder why Sibel has sex with him? i can't understand. other than linking it back to what she said earlier, “if we have sex we'll really be man and wife”. so it's like she wants to consummate the marriage to bind each other together forever. but then she lets him go… oh the pain, i still cry if i think about it.
i read somewhere that the director had planned on a different ending, does anyone know what it was supposed to be? maybe in the dvd?
Mehtab
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I really like this movie, but could anyone please explain to me why Cahit suddenly starts to speak English when he is talking to Selma about the whereabouts of Sibel in Istanbul. I don't get it.
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I understood that his Turkish is not good, and her german is not good, so they communicate in english .
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hi,
thank you for sharing your opinion, i know what you mean… it is just hopeless… and i tend to believe thre is always hope… but lets not forget that ,as the director says, these two were going in a journey of self discovery… and neither one of them got what they wanted… so in a way it is not the end… i mean thr story ends there, but if these two are real people, then their story did not end yet…. as for the two wives, sometimes it is necessary to lose a second loved one to be able to deal with losing them both… it is sad…but it is true
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