The Edge of Heaven (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Nope. I am not about to bestow heaps of praise upon one of the best reviewed films of this year, 'The Edge of Heaven', a foreign film written & directed by Faith Akin. The premise: A 30-something Turkish man travels to Istanbul, Turkey to find the daughter of his father's former girlfriend. A series of somber events connect the lives of these 4 Turkish people with 2 Germans in this drama of love & tragedy. There are a few characters who I really enjoyed getting to meet. But the rest of the characters, their scenarios, how their lives intermingle, & the overly subtle script left me craving for more ... more than I actually got.
The 1st segment of the film has a Title. Although the title reveals the fate of one of the characters, I will not divulge it in this review. We open in Germany: Ali (Runcel Kurtiz), an elderly Turkish widower visits a prostitute named Yeter (Nusel Kose). He visits her frequently, even going as far as making her an offer that she can't refuse: for her to come live with him, & he'd pay her a salary equal to her hooker rates. After being harassed by Muslim hoodlums for her 'way of life', she accepts Ali's offer. Someone who's not happy about this situation is Ali's son, Nejat (Baki Davrak); that is until they have a heart-to-heart one day. Life seems to be going smoothly enough until tragedy strikes the threesome (as mentioned in the Title chapter that appears on the black screen before the film starts).
Chapter Title #2 flashes on the screen (divulging the fate of another character). Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter's missing political activist daughter, Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcy). Hunted by the police for opposing gov't crackdowns on freedom, and being against Turkey joining the E.U. ... Hayten is seen as a sort of terrorist. Searching for her mom in Germany, she meets Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska), a student who agrees to help her; even putting her up in her own house. Against the wishes of her conservative mother, Susanne (Hanna Schygulla), the 2 women become lovers. Situations arise where Ayten is caught by the cops & deported back to Turkey. With little $$ and no blessing from her mother, Lotte follows her. Tragedy looms once again for one of our protagonists.
Something I quite liked about this film is how it shows you (in the Title Chapters) exactly what is going to happen. Though it 'spoils' you, it also enables you to pay attention; to try and figure out when & why something awful will happen to the various character(s). Because you know the 'end' result, doom is instilled in you. But it's an intriguing doom, if that makes any sense (not doom for depression-sake). Another thing I liked about the film was its showing how diverse both Turkey & Germany have become. There are multicultural/religious/political tensions. But the end result of this story in this movie shows that through redemption, repentance, & understanding of one another, yes, we all CAN get along if we really wanted to. Problem is, there are always too many detractors.
The problem I have with 'EoH' is that given it's weighty material, the movie is not as engrossing at it should have been. It is not profound (as many critics have said). It's sad, but not heart-breaking. In a movie full of coincidences (like this); where paths almost cross, but don't, or paths DO cross, but they don't realize who they're speaking with, there has to be some sort of pay-off. The conclusion of the film is open-ended. Ponderous. If the movie had continued to stay as interesting & as taught as its 1st Act, I may not have minded the ending. But there it is. 'Edge of Heaven' has some intermittently powerful moments; most coming from Hanna Schygulla's devastating performance as Susanne. But the film tried & failed to rattle my bones the way other films (of a similar ilk) have done in the past.
The 1st segment of the film has a Title. Although the title reveals the fate of one of the characters, I will not divulge it in this review. We open in Germany: Ali (Runcel Kurtiz), an elderly Turkish widower visits a prostitute named Yeter (Nusel Kose). He visits her frequently, even going as far as making her an offer that she can't refuse: for her to come live with him, & he'd pay her a salary equal to her hooker rates. After being harassed by Muslim hoodlums for her 'way of life', she accepts Ali's offer. Someone who's not happy about this situation is Ali's son, Nejat (Baki Davrak); that is until they have a heart-to-heart one day. Life seems to be going smoothly enough until tragedy strikes the threesome (as mentioned in the Title chapter that appears on the black screen before the film starts).
Chapter Title #2 flashes on the screen (divulging the fate of another character). Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter's missing political activist daughter, Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcy). Hunted by the police for opposing gov't crackdowns on freedom, and being against Turkey joining the E.U. ... Hayten is seen as a sort of terrorist. Searching for her mom in Germany, she meets Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska), a student who agrees to help her; even putting her up in her own house. Against the wishes of her conservative mother, Susanne (Hanna Schygulla), the 2 women become lovers. Situations arise where Ayten is caught by the cops & deported back to Turkey. With little $$ and no blessing from her mother, Lotte follows her. Tragedy looms once again for one of our protagonists.
Something I quite liked about this film is how it shows you (in the Title Chapters) exactly what is going to happen. Though it 'spoils' you, it also enables you to pay attention; to try and figure out when & why something awful will happen to the various character(s). Because you know the 'end' result, doom is instilled in you. But it's an intriguing doom, if that makes any sense (not doom for depression-sake). Another thing I liked about the film was its showing how diverse both Turkey & Germany have become. There are multicultural/religious/political tensions. But the end result of this story in this movie shows that through redemption, repentance, & understanding of one another, yes, we all CAN get along if we really wanted to. Problem is, there are always too many detractors.
The problem I have with 'EoH' is that given it's weighty material, the movie is not as engrossing at it should have been. It is not profound (as many critics have said). It's sad, but not heart-breaking. In a movie full of coincidences (like this); where paths almost cross, but don't, or paths DO cross, but they don't realize who they're speaking with, there has to be some sort of pay-off. The conclusion of the film is open-ended. Ponderous. If the movie had continued to stay as interesting & as taught as its 1st Act, I may not have minded the ending. But there it is. 'Edge of Heaven' has some intermittently powerful moments; most coming from Hanna Schygulla's devastating performance as Susanne. But the film tried & failed to rattle my bones the way other films (of a similar ilk) have done in the past.