agmtw logo
search
Head-On (Gegen die Wand) (2004)

Head-On (Gegen die Wand) (2004)

R

This raw, punk drama about a star-crossed love in modern Germany is as timely now as it was when it came out

The Very Best

9.3

Movie

Germany, Turkey
English, German, Turkish
Drama, Romance
2004
FATIH AKIN
Adam Bousdoukos, Aysel Iscan, Birol Ünel
117 min

What it's about

With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.

The take

Winner of a Golden Bear and a slew of awards at the European Film Awards in the early noughties, Head-on is named after the suicide attempt of Cahit Tomruk (played by the late Birol Ünel), a Turkish-born German in his mid-40s. At the psychiatric clinic where he is treated, he meets the equally damaged Sibel Güner who is also of Turkish descent. (The first ever feature film of famous German actress Sibel Kekilli, who you might know from Game of Thrones.) Sibel persuades him to marry her in an attempt to break away from her traditional-minded parents.

If you think this plot summary was tough stuff, it gets even grimmer from there. Directed by famous German filmmaker Fatih Akın, the intensity with which Kekilli and Ünel perform the character's unhinged self-hatred is as raw as it gets. Head-on is a brutal, gritty, and heart-wrenching story about the violence of love and hedonism – and the struggle of third-generation Turkish immigrants in Germany.

Comments

Great film, great music, great actors!

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore swaps bodies in this standout chaotic body dysmorphia horror

8.0

Victoria (2015)

Filmed in one continuous take and in real time on the streets of Berlin, ‘Victoria’ immerses the viewer in a heart-stopping drama

9.8

Last Call for Istanbul (2023)

A seemingly generic Turkish romance travel film, until it gets into its second half

7.0

Things to Come (2016)

A beautiful, bittersweet portrait of resilience

8.5

Pearl (2022)

The technicolor slasher follow-up to Ti West's X is all about female rage and love for the movies

8.1

Toni Erdmann (2016)

7.9

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

7.7

The Lives of Others (2006)

The 2006 winner of seven German Film Awards wowed viewers worldwide with an authentic look at East Germany's sinister secret police Stasi

6.9

Cold War (2018)

A quiet Polish masterpiece with ravishing music and dazzling visuals

9.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.