Gegen die Wand (2004)

Directed by: Fatih Akin | 123 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrien Stiebeck, Güven Kiraç, Meltem Cumbul

The scenario of ‘Gegen die Wand’ is like the simplest chemical reaction. Condemn two seasoned junk pilots to each other, sprinkle some love over it and catastrophe will be the inevitable result. In Fatih Akin’s latest film, it’s a boozing, sniffing old punk who falls for an explosive young girl with hyperactive hormones. The fact that these characters are Germans of Turkish descent is actually irrelevant, chemical reactions are universal, and therefore of all times.

The film opens with the somewhat surreal image of a Turkish orchestra on the bank of the Bosphorus, a singer who sings a heartbreaking traditional song about a tragic love. This orchestra returns regularly, like a classical Greek sequence, providing the best proof that doomed loves are not tied to times or cultures. Then the film switches to contemporary Hamburg, a rougher part of the city, where we get to know the main characters Cahit and Sibel. Then the drama unfolds, a drama with a lot of violence, sex, drink and the occasional pinch of cocaine to catch your breath.

Does all this make for an interesting film? In order to captivate as a contemporary tragedy, it is necessary for a film to contain striking and recognizable characters. In that respect ‘Gegen die Wand’ is completely successful. Cahit and Sibel evoke both sympathy and pity, as a spectator you might want to address them in comfort now and then or put an arm around their tired shoulders. Other strong points are the rock-solid combination of modern and traditional music, and the sparse but effective cynical humor. The only downside is the somewhat exaggerated amount of violent scenes. What Cahit and Sibel experience in just a few years (or in Sibel’s case, even in one night), is more than three generations of average citizens in a lifetime.

In conclusion, ‘Gegen die Wand’ is a film that has enough to offer to fill the cinema on its own. All the more regrettable that a lot of trammelt broke out in Germany and Turkey, because of the pornography of lead actress Sibel Kelkilli and ill-considered statements by the director and lead actors about the typical Turkish-German problem of film. Careless because, let it be said again, a drama like ‘Gegen die Wand’ is universal. A love tragedy about two Germans in Ankara, decorated with a Schlager orchestra on the banks of the Elbe, could also have been easily done.