Head-On

One of my favorite movies of recent years. Amazingly moving, bleak, sexy, funny, punky. Great acting, wonderful, simple photography, cool editing choices, and terrific music.An alcoholic, self-destructive Turk living in Germany agrees to marry young, borderline crazy, free spirited Turkish girl looking to get away from her grasping, tradition bound family. This simple plot leads to a relationship of amazing complexity, and a love story of joy, humor, and heartbreak. That's partly because filmmaker Akin approaches familiar situations with such a unique, playful and fresh eye, and partly because, along with his two lead actors he has created two unforgettable characters - rich in contradictions and confusion, like all of us.Nothing in their obvious personal experience is anything like mine. I've never been an immigrant, an alcoholic, or lost and self-destructive. Yet, with amazing ease I felt let into this world, and found the human connections underneath, the things we all share. Suddenly the differences in the human experience seemed much less important than the similarities. And, to me, this is the real genius Akin has shown in his last few films. By being so specific and real about a world, he, paradoxically makes it universal and accessible.I urge you to seek it out.

I first saw Head On at a small International film festival shortly after it's theatrical release, and fell in love with it almost immediately! This is by far the best move if the year, and a strong contender for my top 5 movies of all time. It's wide ranging appeal, from the intellectual international crowd who will drool over the interpersonal relationships of the Turkish-German main characters and the cultural aspects of two young, and slightly twisted people dealing with their overly traditional families, to a younger crowd who can appreciate this movie as simply a rocking kick-in-the-pants punk love story, I'm convinced that nearly everyone who sees this movie will love it!! 5 Stars, would give it more if I could! And let's not forget a shout out to Sybel Kekilli, who is one of the most beautiful women on the planet!

Always an intoxicating feast for the senses, and at times downright shocking, Head On is quite a departure for Germany's up-and-coming Turkish director Faith Akin. Previously known for kitsch comedies (Im Juli/In July) and touching dramadies (Solino), Akin plunges into his first overwhelmingly dark picture with reckless abandon - and it pays off. If ever there was a film that demanded attention, even from those normally wary of reading at the cinema, this is it.Head On is a suprisingly beautiful portrait of unconventional love, and it's two leads amaze at every increasingly unbelieveable turn. Birol Unel, who generally plays grizzled thugs, plays... a grizzled thug, but lends his transition into a grizzled thug with a heart incredible believeability and sentiment, as he falls in love with newcomer Sibel Kelkilli's wildly suicidal character. Kelkilli, a former porn star (a fact that didn't come out until Head On was on the festival circuit), handles the film's sexually charged scenes like a pro, unsurprisingly, but it's Unel who surprises most by turning his unattractive character into something pleasantly sexual.Akin, a DJ before he turned to filmmaking, infuses this film, like all his previous films, with a tantilising and toe-tapping punk-electronica soundtrack, seemlessly fusing narrative action with music unlike any other director of the indie-pop generation. The performances, the music and the surprising beauty of the love story creep up on you, making Head On a must-see for anyone who can stomach a bit of sex and violence for the ultimate movie-going payoff - cinematic AND emotional satisfaction.One key warning: the scenes of sex and violence (particularly the violence) are VERY graphic. Take this into consideration if you're particularly squeamish.

I loved this movie....BUT...I wish I didn't spend $9.99 through Amazon video. I just want to buy this movie but iTunes doesn't have it so I used Amazon...well, the quality is terrible and the image freezes despite a great internet connection. Apparently I can only download it to TiVo or an iPad, not an actual computer, WTF? One of my favorite movies I wanted to watch and now I am a very dissatisfied customer. I found it online streaming and watched it there instead. Totally wasted $9.99. But, it is a great movie so if you can rent it, please do! In the meantime, I'll be buying the DVD online so I don't have to worry about connection issues. Wish I didn't waste the money, thought I could download it to my computer not just a Kindle or iPad.

Be warned: the dvd you are looking at may contain an Austrailian/Greek film of the same nameThat be warned, this Turkush German film is still good- although the direction is like lead and threatens to dead pace the last thirty minutes- akim has more of a sense of musical dj in choice songs...in fact most scenes exist simply to convey the musicThe lead actors are playing a fictionized version of themselves which is the real passion of this film

Think of a punk rock version of Dr. Zhivago on amphetamine. Well - that's not QUITE it, of course. But it's quite a ride. One of the most MOVING film experiences I've ever had. I really can't even BEGIN to coherently analyse the film in any way that doesn't deteriorate the synaesthesia that the experience requires. Just SEE it!! Please. I BEG you. Honest - you'll thank me later. The soundtrack is absolutely incredible, too. It's actually got me buying up all kind of new music that I'd never really considered. In short - perhaps this is putting it a BIT dramatically - if you don't cry during this film - you're not human.

Felt like I needed to shower after watching this movie. I never figured the plot out. The atmosphere, environment, and love scenes were rather "dirty."

Bewegende Geschichtliche aus der Gegenwart!

Si te gusta el cine europeo, esta es tu película. Es un poco heavy, pero es maravillosa a la vez.

Chef d'oeuvre cinématographique, quand les acteurs sont au rendez vous quand la caméra présente toujours de nouveaux cadrages, quand la bande son accompagne sans appuyer, quand le scénario ne cesse de nous surprendre, quand, la sobriété de l'image est au service des émotions les plus intenses, quand l'auteur ne appesanti sur rien nous laisse dévaler la pente avec les protagonistes, quand l'échange des regards suffit à nous faire comprendre que l'on assiste à un moment inoubliable et cela sans artifice avec la simplicité d'une actrice dans son premier rôle, d'un acteur qui ne veut pas d'une novice et d'un scénario inextricable qui nous mène droit en enfer, mais chacun à le droit à une nouvelle chance, il faut seulement la saisir. Tout est travaillé sans en donner l'impression, dans la trempe des "Amours chiennes" de Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu pour l'humanité et la destiné, pour la démesure de Kusturica et la profoneur graduelle des personnages de kieslowsky.

One of my favorite movies of recent years. Amazingly moving, bleak, sexy, funny, punky. Great acting, wonderful, simple photography, cool editing choices, and terrific music.An alcoholic, self-destructive Turk living in Germany agrees to marry young, borderline crazy, free spirited Turkish girl looking to get away from her grasping, tradition bound family. This simple plot leads to a relationship of amazing complexity, and a love story of joy, humor, and heartbreak. That's partly because filmmaker Akin approaches familiar situations with such a unique, playful and fresh eye, and partly because, along with his two lead actors he has created two unforgettable characters - rich in contradictions and confusion, like all of us.Nothing in their obvious personal experience is anything like mine. I've never been an immigrant, an alcoholic, or lost and self-destructive. Yet, with amazing ease I felt let into this world, and found the human connections underneath, the things we all share. Suddenly the differences in the human experience seemed much less important than the similarities. And, to me, this is the real genius Akin has shown in his last few films. By being so specific and real about a world, he, paradoxically makes it universal and accessible.I urge you to seek it out.

J'aime ce film . cela dépend de chacun