Head-On

Head-On
For other uses, see Head On (disambiguation).
Head-On

Theatrical film poster
Directed by Fatih Akın
Produced by Fatih Akın
Andreas Schreitmüller
Stefan Schubert
Written by Fatih Akın
Starring Sibel Kekilli
Birol Ünel
Catrin Striebeck
Meltem Cumbul
Distributed by Strand Releasing (USA)
Release date(s) 12 February 2004 (2004-02-12) (Berlin)
02004-03-11 11 March 2004 (Germany)
02004-03-19 19 March 2004 (Turkey)
Running time 121 minutes
Country Germany
Turkey
Language German
Turkish

Head-On (German: Gegen die Wand, literally Into the Wall; Turkish: Duvara Karşı) is a 2004 film written and directed by Fatih Akın.

Synopsis

Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünel) is a Turkish German in his 40s. He has given up on life after the death of his wife and seeks solace in cocaine and alcohol. One night, he intentionally drives his car head-on into a wall, and barely survives. At the psychiatric clinic he is taken to, Sibel Güner (Sibel Kekilli), another Turkish German who has tried to commit suicide, approaches him. She asks Cahit to carry out a formal marriage with her so that she can break out of the strict rules of her conservative family. Cahit is initially turned off by the idea, but then he agrees to take part in this plan.

As Sibel tells him frankly that she prefers an independent sex life, they live as roommates with separate private lives. They eventually fall in love, and things take a different turn as Cahit kills one of Sibel's former lovers out of anger and thus he has to go to prison. While Cahit is in prison, Sibel flees her family and goes to Istanbul to stay with her cousin Selma (Meltem Cumbul)—a divorced woman who manages a hotel. Sibel accepts a job as a maid in Selma's hotel, but finds her new life to be as restrictive as prison. She leaves Selma's apartment to live with a bartender who provides drugs and alcohol. Eventually, he rapes her and throws her out. Roaming the streets that night, she baits three men into beating her up. One of them stabs her and they leave her for dead.

Several years later, Cahit travels to Istanbul upon his release, hoping to find Sibel. Initially, Selma refuses to tell Cahit where Sibel is, but informs him that Sibel is in a long-term relationship and now has a daughter. (The film does not show us her recovery from the rape and assault.) Cahit waits in a hotel for Sibel's call. It eventually comes. He asks her to run away with him, and she agrees to, but never shows up. The film ends with Cahit on a bus, presumably travelling to Mersin, the city where he was born.

Awards

  • "Best Film" and the "Audience Award" at the 2004 European Film Awards.
  • The Golden Bear for Best Film at 54th Berlin International Film Festival) on February 14, 2004.
  • The Golden Prize for Best Actress at the Deutscher Filmpreis on June 18, 2004.
  • The Quadriga Prize on October 3, 2004 in Berlin.
  • The Silver Mirror Award for the Best Movie from the South at the Oslo Film Festival on October 16, 2004.
  • The Audience Prize at the 9th Festival de Cine on November 6-13 in Sevilla, Spain.
  • The Golden Bambi for the best shooting star at the 56th Bambi-Verleihung on November 19 in Hamburg, Germany
  • the Golden Gilde prize for the best German movie of 2003-2004 at the Leipzig Film Fair.
  • The award for Best European Film of 2004 European Film Prize on December 11 in Barcelona, Spain.

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Good Bye Lenin!		 European Film Award for Best European Film
2004		 Succeeded by
Hidden (Caché)
Preceded by
Good Bye Lenin!		 Goya Award for Best European Film
2004		 Succeeded by
Match Point
v · d · eFilms directed by Fatih Akın
Sensin... You're the One! · Weed · Short Sharp Shock · Im Juli · Denk ich an Deutschland - Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren · Solino · Head-On · Visions of Europe · Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul · The Edge of Heaven · Soul Kitchen
v · d · eGolden Bear-winning films – 2000–present

Magnolia (2000) · Intimacy (2001) · Spirited Away (2002) · Bloody Sunday (2002) · In This World (2003) · Head-On (2004) · U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005) · Grbavica (2006) · Tuya's Marriage (2007) · The Elite Squad (2008) · The Milk of Sorrow (2009) · Honey (2010) · Nader and Simin, A Separation (2011)

Complete List · (1951–1959) · (1960–1979) · (1980–1999) · (2000–present)
v · d · eEuropean Film Award for Best Film

A Short Film About Killing (1988) · Landscape in the Mist (1989) · Open Doors (1990) · Riff-Raff (1991) · The Stolen Children (1992) · Close to Eden (1993) · Lamerica (1994) · Land and Freedom (1995) · Breaking the Waves (1996) · The Full Monty (1997) · Life Is Beautiful (1998) · All About My Mother (1999) · Dancer in the Dark (2000) · Amélie (2001) · Talk to Her (2002) · Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) · Head-On (2004) · Hidden (2005) · The Lives of Others (2006) · 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) · Gomorrah (2008) · The White Ribbon (2009) · The Ghost Writer (2010)
v · d · eEuropean Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film

The Full Monty (1997) · Godzilla (1998) · All About My Mother (1999) · Dancer in the Dark (2000) · Amélie (2001) · Talk to Her (2002) · Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) · Head-On (2004) · Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (2005) · Volver (2006) · La sconosciuta (2007) · Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2008) · Slumdog Millionaire (2009) · Mr. Nobody (2010)

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