Gegen die Wand (2004)

Director:

Fatih Akin

Writer:

Fatih Akin (book)

Release Date:

11 March 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In 'Gegen die Wand' Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey has removed everything Turkish from his life...

Plot Keywords:

German | Turkish | Alcoholic | Hospital | Marriage

Awards:

23 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Birol Ünel	...	Cahit Tomruk
Sibel Kekilli	...	Sibel
Catrin Striebeck	...	Maren
Meltem Cumbul	...	Selma (Cousine)
Stefan Gebelhoff	...	Nico
Francesco Fiannaca	...	Mann am Tresen
Mona Mur	...	Stammkundin Zoe Bar
Ralph Misske	...	Patient 1 (Psychiatrie)
Philipp Baltus	...	Patient 2 (Psychiatrie)
Hermann Lause	...	Dr. Schiller
Karin Niwiger	...	Kassiererin (Psychiatrie)
Demir Gökgöl	...	Yunus Güner (Vater)
Cem Akin	...	Yilmaz Güner (Bruder)
Aysel Iscan	...	Birsen Güner (Mutter)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monique Akin	...	Kundin im Friseurladen
Canan Ata	...	Canan
Cahit Aygüler	...	Schläger
Adam Bousdoukos	...	Barmann - Hochzeitsnacht
Yilmaz Canan	...	Türsteher #1
Aytun Ede	...	Musiker
Selim Erdogan	...	Taxifahrer
Tugay Erverdi	...	Osman #3
Nurcan Esmertürk	...	Nurcan
Marco Greiser	...	Abschlepper Disco
Orhan Güner	...	Busfahrer
Sileyman Kaplan	...	Sly
Hatun Kazci	...	Hatice
Güven Kiraç	...	Seref
Feridun Koc	...	Osman #1
Mehmet Kurtulus	...	Barmann Istanbul
Zarah McKenzie	...	Barfrau in der Fabrik
Alma Ouglu Sahin	...	Türsteher 2
Reinhold Schulz	...	Gefängnisbeamter
Tulga Serim	...	Osman #2
Tim Seyfi	...	Bayerischer Taxifahrer
Herr Tekin	...	Barbier
Andreas Thiel	...	Standesbeamter
Misra Tomruk	...	Pamuk - Tochter
Senol Ugurlu	...	Shane

Also Known As:

Head-On (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Duvara karsi (Turkey: Turkish title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic sexuality, pervasive language, some brutal violence and drug content.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

Germany | Turkey

Language:

German | Turkish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Chile:14 | Hungary:16 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Argentina:16 | Brazil:18 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R21 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Fabrik, Altona, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Arte

Trivia:

Birol Ünel had not been in military service in Turkey and therefore could not travel to Turkey without being arrested. However, as they say on DVD, at the last minute Turkish parliament decided on an amnesty, so he could return to his home country for the first time after 10 years and finish the movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The psychiatrist at the beginning of the film tells Cahit about a song by the band The The containing the line "If you can't change the world, change your world". The actual quote (from the song "Lonely Planet", included in the album "Dusk") is "If you can't change the world, change yourself".

Quotes:

Cahit: Are you strong enough to split both of us?
Selma: Are you strong enough to destroy her life?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005)

Soundtrack:

Bossandfunk

A Thrilling Roller Coaster Ride of Love and Loss

"Head On (Gegen die Wand)" is a completely original love story and shames conventional Hollywood romantic comedies with its fresh take on love and loss as rich as Rhett and Scarlett.

The closest I can think of a dysfunctional couple meeting so oddly cute and playing out an unusual relationship is in Christopher Fry's "The Lady's Not for Burning" which shares self-destructive lovers. The German literal title of "Against the Wall" is more resonant of how they feel, but the American distributors probably thought that had too much political implication.

The completely self-involved he and she here are innately off-kilter because writer/director Faith Akin sets them within a diverse Turkish immigrant community of Germany, so that their personalities are circumscribed by cultural expectations and restrictions, she chafing against binds on women and he lost in the nihilistic punk rock underground.

The rocky journey of how they find their own individuality within their sexual and emotional needs and ethnic identity and what each means to the other is an unpredictable thrill ride as each unexpected action leads to tears, laughter, poignancy and regret of bad timing. This is a baldly brash and frank exploration of the meaning of love and marriage, as individuals and within a web of family, friends and culture.

Craggy-faced Birol Ünel is riveting as the older, burned-out case whose past we only glimpse. Sibel Kekilli at first seems like just another pretty young thing, but brings spunk and sympathy on her maturing roller coaster ride. Evidently, deleted scenes that are available on the European DVD help to expand on the hints as to what her closing motivations are.

Dependant on the English subtitles, I'm sure I lost some significances as I wasn't sure when characters were speaking Turkish or German, let alone able to discern their fluency in either, with the added fillip of recognition of globalization with a sudden concluding discussion in Istanbul in English of their future.

The chapter introductions by an ethnic band playing a traditional sad love song adds to the timeliness of the tale that is reminiscent of old folk ballads of tragic love stories. In between, the punk rock and contemporary world fusion selections are terrific, including the moving closing song.