| Birol Unel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin
Striebeck, Given Kirac, Meltem Cumbul, Cem Akin .
German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin writes and directs the
drama Gegen die Wand (Head-On). Set in a working-class Hamburg neighborhood,
the story follows two Turkish immigrants who get together in a marriage
of convenience. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Unel) is a heavy drinker and
a fighter who crashes his car into a wall. While visiting his psychiatrist,
Dr. Schiller (Hermann Lause), he meets fellow patient Sibel Guner
(Sibel Kekilli). She's desperate to get away from her restrictive
family, so she asks Cahit to marry her. Wanting to change his life
anyway, Cahit agrees to the arrangement. After their wedding, Sibel
celebrates her freedom by drinking, dancing, and having one-night
stands. Meanwhile, Cahit carries on an intimate relationship with
hair stylist Maren (Catrin Striebeck). Eventually, Cahit and Sibel
learn to care for one another after a climactic trip to Istanbul.
Head-On won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004.
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