THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Germany/Turkey/Italy, 2007).Wednesday, 17th September 2008Evening Performance starts at 8.00 p.m.
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
Germany/Turkey/Italy, 2007. Directed by Fatih Akin from
his own screenplay. Photography (Colour): Rainer Klausmann.
Music: Shantel. Certificate: “15”. Length: 121 minutes. Leading
Players: BAKI DAVRAK (Nejat Aksu), TUNCEL KURTIZ (Ali,
his father), HANNA SCHYGULLA (Susanne Staub), PATRYCIA
ZIOLKOWSKA) (Lotte, her daughter), NURSEL KÖSE (Yeter
Öztürk), NURGǛL YESILCAY (Ayten, her daughter).
Over the years the Eastbourne Film Society has always welcomed the opportunity to show films from abroad that convey the character of life in other countries, be they parts of the world known to many of us or relatively unfamiliar areas. A sense of place plays a strong role in the films of Fatih Akin and this latest work of his, which won awards for its screenplay both at Cannes and in the 2007 European Film Awards, illustrates this memorably. Akin was born in 1973 and the fact that his Turkish parents were in Hamburg at the time explains why he has a special fascination with both Turkey and Germany which has coloured his work as a writer/director who has chosen to be based in Germany. The Edge of Heaven sets its story in both countries and is Akin’s fifth fictional feature (he has also made two documentaries one of which, Crossing the Bridge –The Sound of Istanbul, is filled with wonderfully evocative sounds and images).
This man of two cultures is on record as saying that he believes that it is impossible to separate life, politics and art – a statement that confirms the seriousness of his approach to cinema. Despite wishing to change the world, he tries not to be dogmatic, and the attitude behind his work is one linked less to any political agenda than to his concern about human relationships. “I believe,” he says, “that all the wars in the world are the result of not using love in the way that humanity should. I think evil is the product of laziness. It’s easier to hate someone than to love them.” Those who saw Akin’s third feature Head-On which gained him international recognition may not readily connect these remarks with a movie that, although technically brilliant, was aggressive and confrontational in tone. However, two years later in 2005, the more sensitive side of Akin emerged in Crossing the Bridge and he has declared that becoming a parent had a huge impact on him (his son was born in 2005). Whatever accounts for it, one finds a far greater sense of maturity and understanding in this new film and he has also credited as beneficial to his outlook the work he has undertaken in teaching students at university in Hamburg.
Given this background, it is no surprise that The Edge of Heaven should be a serious, thought-provoking work, but it should also be stressed that Akin is a fascinating story-teller who creates a range of characters capable of arousing our concern and sympathy (that, after all, is why the screenplay won those awards). Nevertheless, the narrative has its unorthodox aspects including the fact that there is a preface set in a petrol station in Turkey which only slips into place quite late on in the film. The main novelty, however, is that the film unfolds in three distinct sections that bear chapter headings: “Yeter’s Death”, “Lotte’s Death” and “The Edge of Heaven” respectively. Together these three pieces tell a single story and one that, despite offering no less than six central characters and playing with time in an unexpected way at one point, is never difficult to follow.
The first chapter, “Yeter’s Death”, is set in Bremen and immediately introduces us to a marvellously realised character. This is Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) who, despite his age, regularly visits a Tukish prostitute in consolation for his solitary existence. The prostitute is Yeter (Nursel Köse) who proves to be a very decent person and has only turned to this trade to raise enough money to support her daughter, Ayten (Nurgül Yesilcay), in her studies. Ali is sufficiently aware of Yeter’s qualities to suggest that he will look after her and keep her in funds if she will give up her work and live exclusively with him. The suggestion is unexpected and not necessarily desirable, but Yeter has already been subjected to abuse by fundamentalist Muslims over her work as a prostitute and this makes Ali’s proposal the more inviting.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot developments in detail but would confirm that the other main characters include Ali’s son Nejat (Baki Devrak) who teaches German at Hamburg University and who is somewhat disturbed when he learns of the relationship between his father and Yeter. The other two principal characters who enter the story only in the second chapter are Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska) a friend of Yeter’s daughter and Lotte’s mother Susanne, a role played by Hanna Schygulla who often featured memorably in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. As the story continues, Turkey comes to play a more significant role and, although the chapter headings give us advance notice of the fact that both Yeter and Lotte will die, how this will happen is something that we cannot anticipate.
Akin himself has said that he sees this film as being about death but about death leading on to other things. It is certainly not a film with a negative outlook, and in some respects the film shows an unexpected connection with the work of the late Jacques Demy. Many of his films touched on the role that chance plays in our lives while emphasising too the parallels and patterns of which we may be unaware. Such elements certainly play a role here, and at the close Akin chooses not to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s but to leave it to the audience to decide for themselves where the characters will go from there. Even so, I myself feel that a distinct theme does emerge and that the central issue becomes the need for reconciliation between individuals who allow areas of disagreement and disapproval to keep them apart. This, surely, is part of what Akin meant when he spoke of the importance of love in our relationships with our fellows.
Filmography (title underlined shown by the EFS):
Short Sharp Shock (1998); In July (2000); Wir Haben Vergessen Zurueckzukehren (2001); Solino (2002); Head-On (2003); Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul (2005); The Edge of Heaven (2007).
“**** Fascinating and inspiring… this impeccably plotted, paced and played
picture is superb” - David Parkinson, Empire.
“Admirable” – Philip French, The Observer.
“A passionate, ambitious and charismatically performed work… its energy
and urgency are captivating” – Daily Telegraph.
“**** The film confirms Fatih Akin as a great talent” – Alan Stanbrook, Sunday Telegraph.
“****” Evening Standard.
Programme Note by Mansel Stimpson.
