The Edge of Heaven
When I saw Fatih Atkin's previous feature film Head-On I was blown away by it. And I can now say the same thing about his new film The Edge of Heaven.
Like Head-On, The Edge of Heaven takes place in Germany and Turkey. And both films take on the sometimes difficult relationship between the two cultures.
There are six main characters in the film. Najat (Baki Davrak) is a professor at a university in Hamburg. His father Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) lives in Bremen. Ali starts to go to a prostitute named Yeter (Nursel Kose) and he finds himself developing feelings for her. On a visit to his father Najar meets Yeter. She conveys the fact that she really misses her daughter Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcay) who she hasn't heard from in a long time. Ayten is living in Istanbul and is political activist. When she gets into trouble she decides to go to Germany to look for her mother. When she has no place to go a student named Lotte (Patrycia Ziokowska) takes her in. Lotte's mother Susanne (Hanna Schygulla) is suspicious of their relationship and of Ayten in general. And that my friends is all I will say about the plot.
The Edge of Heaven is a fantastic film. It is plot and character driven. By the end of the film you feel as if you know these people. And you see how they are all connected in one way or another. Atkin knows these two worlds because he is part of both of them. One might think that this film would be hard to follow but it is not at all. Everything is perfectly laid out. And we see how each piece of the puzzle fits. The last scene of the film is absolutely stunning.
Akin deservedly won a best screenplay awards at last year's Cannes. I can only wonder what he will do next. Whatever it is I look forward to seeing it. The Edge of Heaven is in very limited release. If you can't see it in the theater then make sure you see it on DVD. I hope that in the not too distant future Mr. Akin will be able to get wider releases for his films because they are what cinema is all about.
Like Head-On, The Edge of Heaven takes place in Germany and Turkey. And both films take on the sometimes difficult relationship between the two cultures.
There are six main characters in the film. Najat (Baki Davrak) is a professor at a university in Hamburg. His father Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) lives in Bremen. Ali starts to go to a prostitute named Yeter (Nursel Kose) and he finds himself developing feelings for her. On a visit to his father Najar meets Yeter. She conveys the fact that she really misses her daughter Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcay) who she hasn't heard from in a long time. Ayten is living in Istanbul and is political activist. When she gets into trouble she decides to go to Germany to look for her mother. When she has no place to go a student named Lotte (Patrycia Ziokowska) takes her in. Lotte's mother Susanne (Hanna Schygulla) is suspicious of their relationship and of Ayten in general. And that my friends is all I will say about the plot.
The Edge of Heaven is a fantastic film. It is plot and character driven. By the end of the film you feel as if you know these people. And you see how they are all connected in one way or another. Atkin knows these two worlds because he is part of both of them. One might think that this film would be hard to follow but it is not at all. Everything is perfectly laid out. And we see how each piece of the puzzle fits. The last scene of the film is absolutely stunning.
Akin deservedly won a best screenplay awards at last year's Cannes. I can only wonder what he will do next. Whatever it is I look forward to seeing it. The Edge of Heaven is in very limited release. If you can't see it in the theater then make sure you see it on DVD. I hope that in the not too distant future Mr. Akin will be able to get wider releases for his films because they are what cinema is all about.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:09 PM
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