FILM REVIEW
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
a film review by Malik Isasis
The Edge of Heaven follows an ensemble of six Turkish and German characters in and out of Instanbul, Turkey through Bremen, Germany in an interconnected story of coincidence and tragedy.
The Edge of Heaven opens with an elderly almost frail looking Turkish man, Ali walking down a street in Bremen, window-shopping scantily clad women who are sitting or standing in the windows of brothels like exotic mannequins. Ali pauses when he spots a middle-age woman in particular with a blond wig and olive skin. Her name is Yeter, and she too is Turkish. After several visits, Ali who is lonely asks her to be his live-in girlfriend and in turn he would pay her what she would make at the brothel. The catch, she would sleep with only him. She only slightly considers the offer, until two Turkish men threatens her life when they overhear her speaking Turkish.
Nejat, a professor and Ali’s son, is unsure of this arrangement, but soon finds himself intrigued by Yeter’s life after Ali suffers a heart attack. While Ali is in the hospital, Nejat and Yeter tacitly become friends. Upon Ali’s return, he becomes obsessed whether or not his son has “fucked” Yeter.
“Tell me the truth. Have you fucked her?” He asks. "I know you fucked her." He goes on. When Nejat leaves to return to work, Ali turns his inquisition on Yeter.
"Did you fuck him?"
At first blush Ali is sweet, thoughtful, and polite but he is not who he seems to be.
In 2004 writer/director Fatih Akin, a German citizen of Turkish decent, won the top prize, the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for his debut film Gegen Die Wand or as it was known here, Head On.
Head On followed two German-Turkish souls who found each other in a mental institution; both were institutionalized for attempted suicide. From the onset, Akin put each of the characters on the same train track, but on opposite ends so that the audience observes the train wreck in slow motion. It was neither exploitive, nor self-indulgent, rather it revealed a lot about the human condition—the need to create chaos in order to feel connected to self and others.
In The Edge of Heaven Akin again explores German-Turkish relations and again, assembles the train track and places the trains at opposite ends. The happenstance-driven plot device actually moves the story along smoothly, if not in an emotionally frustratingly way, still it is effective.
Heaven is divided into three chapters and Akin cleverly tells the audience which character is going to die. The first chapter is Yeter’s Death, the second, Lotte’s Death, and the third, The Edge of Heaven. It is a little disturbing since almost immediately you become attached to the character you know who will not survive the act. I found it interesting that I completely forgot about the predetermined deaths until it happened and I still found myself shocked.
Akin like Pedro Almodovar has a talent for writing very strong, female-centered characters. He is also not afraid to air the dirty laundry of Turkish culture and is deft at showing the contradictions of the struggle between secularism and Islam, sexism and egalitarianism without condescension.
I love popcorn movies just as much as the next person, but I review art house and foreign films here because they keep us close to our humanity, and they often get lost amongst the explosions and superheroes. Art house, independent, and foreign films calls us to examine who we are and who we want to be. The Edge of Heaven does all those things and more. This story about parents and their adult children is still with me, deep in my bones.
The Edge of Heaven is the best movie I’ve seen all year. I highly recommend seeing this film when it comes to a theatre near you this summer. Here is a schedule. If you do not see your city, the movie will be out on Netflix in four months. Until then, rent Akin’s first feature, Head-On as a primer.
GRADE: A+
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
a film review by Malik Isasis
The Edge of Heaven follows an ensemble of six Turkish and German characters in and out of Instanbul, Turkey through Bremen, Germany in an interconnected story of coincidence and tragedy.
The Edge of Heaven opens with an elderly almost frail looking Turkish man, Ali walking down a street in Bremen, window-shopping scantily clad women who are sitting or standing in the windows of brothels like exotic mannequins. Ali pauses when he spots a middle-age woman in particular with a blond wig and olive skin. Her name is Yeter, and she too is Turkish. After several visits, Ali who is lonely asks her to be his live-in girlfriend and in turn he would pay her what she would make at the brothel. The catch, she would sleep with only him. She only slightly considers the offer, until two Turkish men threatens her life when they overhear her speaking Turkish.
Nejat, a professor and Ali’s son, is unsure of this arrangement, but soon finds himself intrigued by Yeter’s life after Ali suffers a heart attack. While Ali is in the hospital, Nejat and Yeter tacitly become friends. Upon Ali’s return, he becomes obsessed whether or not his son has “fucked” Yeter.
“Tell me the truth. Have you fucked her?” He asks. "I know you fucked her." He goes on. When Nejat leaves to return to work, Ali turns his inquisition on Yeter.
"Did you fuck him?"
At first blush Ali is sweet, thoughtful, and polite but he is not who he seems to be.
In 2004 writer/director Fatih Akin, a German citizen of Turkish decent, won the top prize, the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for his debut film Gegen Die Wand or as it was known here, Head On.
Head On followed two German-Turkish souls who found each other in a mental institution; both were institutionalized for attempted suicide. From the onset, Akin put each of the characters on the same train track, but on opposite ends so that the audience observes the train wreck in slow motion. It was neither exploitive, nor self-indulgent, rather it revealed a lot about the human condition—the need to create chaos in order to feel connected to self and others.
In The Edge of Heaven Akin again explores German-Turkish relations and again, assembles the train track and places the trains at opposite ends. The happenstance-driven plot device actually moves the story along smoothly, if not in an emotionally frustratingly way, still it is effective.
Heaven is divided into three chapters and Akin cleverly tells the audience which character is going to die. The first chapter is Yeter’s Death, the second, Lotte’s Death, and the third, The Edge of Heaven. It is a little disturbing since almost immediately you become attached to the character you know who will not survive the act. I found it interesting that I completely forgot about the predetermined deaths until it happened and I still found myself shocked.
Akin like Pedro Almodovar has a talent for writing very strong, female-centered characters. He is also not afraid to air the dirty laundry of Turkish culture and is deft at showing the contradictions of the struggle between secularism and Islam, sexism and egalitarianism without condescension.
I love popcorn movies just as much as the next person, but I review art house and foreign films here because they keep us close to our humanity, and they often get lost amongst the explosions and superheroes. Art house, independent, and foreign films calls us to examine who we are and who we want to be. The Edge of Heaven does all those things and more. This story about parents and their adult children is still with me, deep in my bones.
The Edge of Heaven is the best movie I’ve seen all year. I highly recommend seeing this film when it comes to a theatre near you this summer. Here is a schedule. If you do not see your city, the movie will be out on Netflix in four months. Until then, rent Akin’s first feature, Head-On as a primer.
GRADE: A+
posted by Malik Isasis at
12:11 AM
1 Comments:
u write well folk
Nice spot u have here, hope u don’t mind the drive by, do chk me out one day
rawdawgbuffalo and if u like what u read, maybe u will come back, even Blog Roll Me
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