Independent Films, Film Profiles

Head-On
by Fatih_Akın

Head-On (German: Gegen die Wand, literally Against the Wall; Turkish: Duvara Karşı) is a 2004 German film written and directed by Fatih Akın.Cahit Tomruk (played by Birol Ünel) is a German of Turkish descent in his 40s. He has given up on life after the death of his wife and seeks solace in cocaine and alcohol. One night, he intentionally crashes into a wall (hence the title), and barely survives. At the psychiatric clinic he is taken to, Sibel Güner (Sibel Kekilli), another German Turk who has tried to commit suicide, approaches him. She asks Cahit to carry out a formal marriage with her so that she can break out of the strict rules of her conservative family. Cahit is initially turned off by the idea, but then he agrees to take part in this plan. As Sibel tells him frankly that she prefers an independent sex life, they live as roommates with separate private lives. They eventually fall in love, and things take a different turn as Cahit kills one of Sibel's former lovers out of anger and thus he has to go to prison. While Cahit is in prison, Sibel goes to Istanbul, to which he follows her upon his release. Upon arrival, Cahit finds that Sibel is in a long-term relationship and now has a daughter. Sibel's cousin Selma does not tell Cahit how to find her, so he waits in a hotel for Sibel's call. It eventually comes. He asks her to run away with him, and she agrees to, but never shows up. The film ends with Cahit on a bus, presumably travelling to Mersin - the city where he was born.