As we edge further in 2008, PIAF’s film season intensifies with German director Faith Akin’s The Edge of Heaven. A definite highlight of this film festival season, The Edge of Heaven plays upon Akin’s favourite themes of birth, love and death, and, like his 2003 success Head-On, the film’s storyline weaves through the porous boundary between Turkey and Germany in today’s post-EU Europe. Against a shifting backdrop that gradually moves from Germany to Turkey (a journey symbolised through clever camera work) three parent-child couples find their lives unexpectedly interweaving. Ali and his academic son Nejat are Germans of Turkish descent who become involved with the fate of the Turkish prostitute Yeti, after she moves in with Ali in exchange for a monthly allowance. Meanwhile, German student Lotte and her conservative mother Suzanne are drawn into the turbulent life of persecuted political activist Nejat, who is actually Yeti’s daughter and simultaneously being desperately sought by Nejet back in her homeland.
Certainly, this is a very dense film. The narrative spins out several interweaving plotlines, each of which is as intense and significant as the last. Nonetheless, this intensity is never overwhelming or exaggerated. Akin plays his characters against each other with a natural ease, smoothed by remarkable performances from all the cast. The storyline may seem hyperbolic and convoluted in print, but Akin breathes life into these situations, celebrating the ordinary people who get caught up in extraordinary situations. Furthermore, through these performances, coupled with the script’s intimate dialogue, a strong sense of connection is forged between the characters and the audience – even with those lead characters who are not introduced until halfway through the film. Watch out for the Akin’s clever repetition of the first scene later in the film. While initially this scene feels arbitrary and even banal, when it is repeated later it bulges with significance and emotion. Just like other increasingly popular cross-cultural film efforts such as Babel or Crash, The Edge of Heaven calls upon us to delay judgements until we have a fuller understanding of the circumstances – and it does so through marvellous storytelling rather than through dogmatic preaching.
Rating: 9.0
From next Monday, The Edge of Heaven will move from Sommerville to Joondalup, giving way to Sweden’s Heartbreak Hotel. Although it is a far lighter offering, Heartbreak Hotel, like a lot of these festival films, similarly looks at fragile human beings struggling to make sense of their lives. This time the protagonists are Elisabeth and Gedrun, two women in their forties who have recently lost their husbands and are in the process of rediscovering what it means to be single. For the feisty gynaecologist, Elisabeth, this means drinking at dancing at the local bar, Heartbreak Hotel, but for the insecure traffic warden, Gudrun, life has become an endless stream of crossword puzzles and TV guide analyses. Despite the conflict that erupts between the two when they first meet (tempers flare over a parking ticket dispute), they keep running into each other, and gradually Gudrun finds herself inspired by Elisabeth’s fun, youthful outlook.
There’s naturally a certain age group that will get the most of this film, but it’s not to be completely dismissed by others. After all, the film isn’t so much about aging as it is about challenging our traditional expectations of aging, in a reality where life does not end (or even slow down) at forty. Unsurprisingly, there are some well-worn clichés to be found within this storyline, but luckily none of them are unfairly cast upon the main characters. In fact, in the tradition of many other European filmmakers (most notably Pedro Almodovar), these two women are sexy, assertive and strong, and also humanly flawed. They realistic, complex human beings, who at times demand sympathy, at others pity, and, at others still, admiration. It’s not the deepest film on the bill, but it’s a pleasantly heart-warming number, accompanied by a fun soundtrack and a warm feeling that will not be out of place on a summer evening at the outdoor cinema.
Rating: 7.5
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