January 2006Issue 386



Head-On/Crossing the Bridge

Sibel wants freedom, not least sexual freedom. But how? Her father would kill her. Or disown her, and cut her off from her mum. So she concocts a marriage of convenience with Cahit, a drunken bum who, like her, is from a Turkish family living in Hamburg. It’s a careering, passionate, tragic, comic, anarchic love story, but also surprisingly compassionate, tender and wise. Little seen in cinemas, but now on DVD from Soda Pictures, you won’t forget it quickly.

Director Akin’s generous and culturally aware documentary, Crossing the Bridge, also on Soda DVD, celebrates both the universality of music and the complexity of Istanbul’s contemporary music scene, bridging both East and West. Kurdish musician Aynur, now permitted to sing in her native language, is proud, mournful, and rousing. Absorbing film, and some great music.

Product information
directed by Fatih Akin
Publisher
Released by Soda Pictures on DVD
Star rating
****

Malcolm Lewis




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