David O'ConnellFatih Akin's The Edge of Heaven
May 6th 2008 04:39
On the weekend I saw The Edge of Heaven, a German/Turkish co-production made by a young filmmaker, Fatih Akin, whose previous work I'm not familiar with. The story crosses the divide of both countries as we follow the lives of characters who become interconnected in sometimes tragic ways.
This slow-moving, ponderous, but often very tender film is divided into three 40 minute 'chapters', the first two of which give away the fates of major characters so we're left waiting with a foreboding sense of what's to come. It was a bit of an annoying device I thought - I'd naturally prefer to be left in the dark about these people as we get to know them, uncertain about every possible outcome.
In Germany we meet Ali Aksu, an old man who visits prostitutes and asks one, Yeter, to come live with him so that he can have her to himself as a lover and companion. Ali's son, Nejat, is a professor at a University and after a tragic occurrence he travels to Istanbul to find Yeter's daughter, who was given away by her mother many years ago.
In the second part of the film we meet Yeter's daughter, Ayten, who is a political activist and who travels to Germany and gets involved in a relationship with a naive girl, Lotte, who is then swept along in Ayten's cause after she becomes a political prisoner, without even knowing what she's fighting for. Again we are forewarned about the outcome by Akin for one of his characters which makes it bittersweet watching their relationship develop.
The other major character is Lotte's mother, Susanne, who is drawn by tragedy into her daughter's new life which she disapproves of but is helpless to prevent. Many people's lives become interconnected in ways they aren't always aware of and though there is perhaps too strong an element of chance and coincidence in Akin's screenplay, I was mostly convinced by it all, and the performances all round are very strong. It's ultimately a film about the strong ties of family and the displacement that can strengthen these binding relationships and keep them in place.
The final part of the film, called 'The Edge of Heaven' is sometimes painful to watch but it presents a ray of hope too as we see the characters' acceptance of their altered lives.
The final shot is one of peace and serenity but quite ambiguous too which some people may be slightly disappointed by.
Ultimately The Edge of Heaven is a fine film, with a strong humanistic streak, though not a great one. It did win the best screenplay award at Cannes last year.
This slow-moving, ponderous, but often very tender film is divided into three 40 minute 'chapters', the first two of which give away the fates of major characters so we're left waiting with a foreboding sense of what's to come. It was a bit of an annoying device I thought - I'd naturally prefer to be left in the dark about these people as we get to know them, uncertain about every possible outcome.
In Germany we meet Ali Aksu, an old man who visits prostitutes and asks one, Yeter, to come live with him so that he can have her to himself as a lover and companion. Ali's son, Nejat, is a professor at a University and after a tragic occurrence he travels to Istanbul to find Yeter's daughter, who was given away by her mother many years ago.
In the second part of the film we meet Yeter's daughter, Ayten, who is a political activist and who travels to Germany and gets involved in a relationship with a naive girl, Lotte, who is then swept along in Ayten's cause after she becomes a political prisoner, without even knowing what she's fighting for. Again we are forewarned about the outcome by Akin for one of his characters which makes it bittersweet watching their relationship develop.
The other major character is Lotte's mother, Susanne, who is drawn by tragedy into her daughter's new life which she disapproves of but is helpless to prevent. Many people's lives become interconnected in ways they aren't always aware of and though there is perhaps too strong an element of chance and coincidence in Akin's screenplay, I was mostly convinced by it all, and the performances all round are very strong. It's ultimately a film about the strong ties of family and the displacement that can strengthen these binding relationships and keep them in place.
The final part of the film, called 'The Edge of Heaven' is sometimes painful to watch but it presents a ray of hope too as we see the characters' acceptance of their altered lives.
The final shot is one of peace and serenity but quite ambiguous too which some people may be slightly disappointed by.
Ultimately The Edge of Heaven is a fine film, with a strong humanistic streak, though not a great one. It did win the best screenplay award at Cannes last year.
Ayten and Lotte (Nurgil Yesilcay & Patrycia Ziolkowska)
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