'Gegen Die Wand' a deep, dark gem<\/p>\n
Paul F. Agusta, Contributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Imagine a life in which the only options appear to be a lifetime
\nof bondage or an uncertain existence as an object of contempt.
\nThis is the choice that Sibel refuses to make in Gegen Die Wand,
\na film by German-Turkish director Fatih Akin.<\/p>\n
Suicidal with frustration at her lack of options, a young
\nwoman from an ultratraditional Turkish family, Sibel Guner (Sibel
\nKekilli, in a painfully real performance), believes she has found
\na solution in the depressed, alcoholic cocaine addict Cahit
\nTomruk, played heartbreakingly apathetic by Birol Unel, whom she
\nencounters in a psychiatric ward after they have both botched
\nexits from the dire straits of their lives.<\/p>\n
"Will you marry me?" Sibel asks Cahit as he prepares to exit
\nthe doctor's waiting room after a session. The reluctant Cahil,
\ntragically fractured from the impact of his first wife's untimely
\ndeath, fends off her pleas until she slits her wrist with a
\nbroken bottle in a cafe.<\/p>\n
Somehow, it seems to both of them that life together, but not
\nquite completely so, might provide some sort of remedy for their
\npain.<\/p>\n
After a brief but precisely correct courtship in terms of
\nTurkish tradition, Sibel and Cahit enter into a marriage of
\nconvenience, in which Sibel finds the freedom she wants and Cahil
\ngets someone to clean and cook for him. They are husband and wife
\non paper only, as Sibel leaves Cahit at home alone on their
\nwedding night and consummates her married state with a bartender.<\/p>\n
Gegen Die Wand starts like a hard and fast cinematic kidney
\npunch and keeps you gasping as it rushes on into a beautiful
\ncollision of love, violence, loss and redemption. In the hands of
\nthe brilliant and gifted Fatih Akin, this film, for which he also
\nwrote the screenplay, transcends the genre of drama with a high
\nlevel dose of adrenaline and volatile sociopolitical subtexts.<\/p>\n
With its superb acting, seamless directing, stunningly gritty
\nvisuals, appropriately frenetic editing, and a massively moving
\nsoundtrack, Gegen Die Wand is a tsunami of a film that drenches
\nthe soul with a torrent of emotions that provoke a greater
\nunderstanding of the human experience, especially as it relates
\nto imposed gender roles.<\/p>\n
The depictions of both the female and the male characters in
\nthis film provide a vehicle for the discussion of gender issues
\noutside of the usual polemic of injustice and double standards.
\nFatih Akin successfully walks the thin line between accusation
\nand absolution in his portrayal of rigid gender roles as
\ndetrimental to both the male and female.<\/p>\n
With this controversial and confrontational film, Fatih Akin
\noffers up dark, gritty, emotionally evocative and hard to ignore
\ncinema, while maintaining as objective a view possible of the two
\ndiverse cultures he is dissecting. In this context, his work
\nfeels like that of a darker, more objective, but equally militant
\nand socio-politically charged Costa-Gavras, the director of such
\npolitical films as "Z" and, most recently, "Amen".<\/p>\n
Clearly a graduate of the MTV Generation of cinematic
\napproaches, Fatih Akin's bold and startling visual sequences are
\nrapid fire, and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
\nThey are also extremely engaging, with a deep, dark, almost
\nintoxicating beauty that at once carries the mood and the
\nthematic content.<\/p>\n
Gegen Die Wand, which can be directly translated as Against
\nthe Wall and which carries the official English title Head On, is
\nnot a film to be missed. Be sure to catch it at JIFFEST at the
\ntime and venue most convenient to you.<\/p>\n
* Sunday, Dec. 5
\n7:30 p.m.
\nErasmus Huis
\nJl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan
\n(also Dec. 7 at same time and venue)<\/p>\n
* Monday, Dec. 6
\n9:30 p.m.
\nGraha Bhakti Budaya<\/p>\n
-- www.jiffest.org<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gegen-die-wand-a-deep-dark-gem-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }