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Head-On

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Head-On (2005)

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Reviews Counted:80

Fresh:72

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: A raw, provocative drama about star-crossed love and the lives of immigrants caught between the traditional and modern.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Jan 21, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Birol Unel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Guven Kyrac

Starring: Birol Unel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Guven Kyrac, Meltem Cumbul, Cem Akin, Aysel Iscan, Demir Gokgol, Stefan Gebelhoff

Director: Fatih Akin

Director: Fatih Akin
Screenwriter: Fatih Akin
Producer: Stefan Schubert, Ralph Schwingel
Studio: Strand Releasing

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 13, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Head-On

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Beyond its pleasures as a good piece of storytelling, Head-On also provides some interesting commentary on the clash between different cultures.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

Ultimately more provocative than insightful.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
04/10/06
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine

A gloomy fairy-tale version of a Hollywood romantic film that barely gets past its gloomy outlook on life.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/05/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Future Movies UK | comment Comment
08/20/05
Michelle Thomas
Michelle Thomas
Future Movies UK

(...) El punk no ha muerto, y esta película es prueba de ello.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
08/11/05
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

A crash course in raw, visceral film-making . . . riding a gritty story and frenetically alive characters, Head-On is a cinematic rush.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
08/09/05
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/05/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Akin makes this a most intriguing, if roundabout, journey from despair to 'do something.'

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/01/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Teutonic despair hasn't looked this good since Fassbinder was in business.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
06/30/05
Jessica Bryce Young
Jessica Bryce Young
Orlando Weekly

...[peppered] with a variety of needlessly self-conscious touches that serve only to distract the viewer from the sporadically intriguing storyline...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
06/18/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

not particularly original but it is often riveting enough to hold one’s attention.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/18/05
Matt Langdon
Matt Langdon
Filmcritic.com

The power of Akin's film, which is considerably aided by the two lead performances ... comes from the spectacle of people developing feelings for each other even through numbing layers of mutual narcissism, self-loathing and raging terror of intimacy.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/17/05
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Heartbreaking in the best way.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/17/05
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Violent and sexy and funny and sad.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/17/05
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Their performances are the heart of a film that is an often comic and raucous look at mismatched personalities, cultural dissonance, and the tender and tentative sense of optimism that keeps all of us alive for another day.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
06/09/05
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
 
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