HEAD-ON

HEAD-ON (DUVARA KARŞI), 2004

Germany/Turkey | Betacam,colour, 121’ |

Director: Fatih Akın

Cast: Sibel Kekilli, Birol Ünel, Güven Kıraç, Meltem Cumbul, Demir Gökgöl

These two films have been immensely popular among Turkish audiences from different generations. It is going to be a sweet and sour treat to notice the common traits despite the years and miles between them. The Return is the film-making debut of star-actress Türkan Şoray, the 'Sultan' of Turkish Cinema. The films tells the story of a free spirited peasant woman, Gülcan (Türkan Şoray), who is not afraid to challenge authority. Her husband İbrahim (Kadir İnanır) goes to Germany as a guest-worker and she has to face life alone. She loses all that she has but is determined not to give in. The Return deals with its contemporary issues: The 70s were the times when migration from rural areas (to big cities in Turkey and Europe) was at its height and it was a politically turbulent era. The story consists of several events that are quite familiar to Turkish cinema audiences from the film cycles about countryside and immigration. The film combines these fragments in an original way. With this film, Şoray proves her authorship and maturity in both story and style. The film shows an inclination toward Third Cinema principles such as Brechtian acting and montage sequences of idealized and aestheticized country life. Unconventional cinematography emphasizes the need to question the situation and change perspective. Şoray's film sees hope in the education of the masses, like many leftist intellectuals of the time. As for the immigrant, the film claims that it is impossible to return. The one who goes cannot remain the same, nor can the one who stays. 30 years later, in Head On, Fatih Akın shows us how the story continues for the children of the ones who could not return. Akın carries the German-Turkish identity with pride and honesty. In his style we find glimpses of both Yeşilçam and Balkan Cinema. The film tells the story of two lost souls Cahit (Birol Ünel) and Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) who hopelessly try to find a way out. In Head On, we understand how little has changed for the free spirited who no longer have a home to long for. Watch these two pieces of artful and spectacular storytelling about belonging, love and standing up for your rights.

Serazer Pakerman