Head-On

R

Released Feb 12, 2004

2h 2m

Drama

List

91%

Tomatometer

88 Reviews

93%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Cahit (Birol Ünel) stumbles from bar to bar in Hamburg, Germany, lost in an alcoholic haze. The boozy Turkish immigrant crashes his car into a wall, which lands him in a mental institution. There he meets the suicidal Sibel (Sibel Kekilli). She convinces him to marry her, because otherwise her family will arrange her marriage to a Turkish man of their choosing. She proposes a deal to Cahit: She will cook and clean for him and they can see other people. Thus begins their strange romance.

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Critics Consensus

A raw, provocative drama about star-crossed love and the lives of immigrants caught between the traditional and modern.

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Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

A punky, noisy romance full of life and emotion and ideas that captures the moment in the style of contemporary classics such as My Beautiful Laundrette and Trainspotting.

Apr 1, 2019

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

That this marriage of convenience between two cultural misfits will eventually lead to love may sound like a contrivance, but that's not at all the way it plays. Akin's raw, powerful, multileveled movie takes us places we never expected to go.

Mar 13, 2018

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Ultimately more provocative than insightful.

Rated: B

Apr 10, 2006

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

One of the few films by the German Turkish director Fatih Akin that gets me hooked from start to finish. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Feb 26, 2021

Full Review

Nigel Floyd

The List

From its stunning opening sequence to its merciless fatalistic conclusion, this is directed with extraordinary confidence and maturity by the 32-year-old Fatih Akin.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 23, 2019

Full Review

Brian Miller

Seattle Weekly

The storytelling rhythms can be a little jarring, almost like early Spike Lee, but this seems true to the disconnect of Cahit's and Sibel's lives.

Feb 19, 2019

Full Review

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William L

First prison I've ever seen with wall-to-wall carpeting. Head-On is an example of a particularly well-trodden Hollywood premise (a mismatched couple in a marriage of convenience legitimately falling in love) and making it a legitimate drama - contemporary social conflicts, humor and barbs in equal measure, and protagonists with flaws that highlight a sense of realism without sacrificing their likability. What makes the film work most of all is the time dedicated to allowing the characters to grow as a direct result of their exposure to one another, transitioning from a slapdash engagement to a genuinely complementary dynamic that sees the two fluttering between longing, perplexity, affection, and melancholy. There's a degree of legitimate suffering in the film that makes the audience actually invested in the fate of the two characters without feeling exploitative; when the pair are left in a hotel room conversing in short, pained sentences, writer-director Fatih Akin earns that moment. Really solid performances from Birol Ünel as Cahit and Sibel Kekilli as Sibel. Obligatory "HEAD-ON: APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD." (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Wow, that was quite a movie. I'm not sure what to say so I'll give a quick rundown. The cinematography is awesome, so is the acting. The storytelling on the other hand, can be a little difficult to follow, though its not so bad as to ruin the movie, and in a way gels with the chaos of the characters lives. 90/100

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The characters are so self destructive that it's hard to watch at times, but it's rewarding. The kind of movie that sits with you a while.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Two despicably selfish characters, yet it is their selfishness that reminds us so often of ourselves...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lovely characters in despair, lives full of contrasts. Pace changing from frenetic to slow, just like the incredible music, in order to give you an even better idea of the clash between cultures.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The greatest film of all time. Not for everyone.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Fatih Akin

Director

Birol Ünel

Cahit Tomruk

Sibel Kekilli

Sibel Güner

Catrin Striebeck

Maren

Güven Kiraç

Seref

Meltem Cumbul

Selma

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Synopsis

Cahit (Birol Ünel) stumbles from bar to bar in Hamburg, Germany, lost in an alcoholic haze. The boozy Turkish immigrant crashes his car into a wall, which lands him in a mental institution. There he meets the suicidal Sibel (Sibel Kekilli). She convinces him to marry her, because otherwise her family will arrange her marriage to a Turkish man of their choosing. She proposes a deal to Cahit: She will cook and clean for him and they can see other people. Thus begins their strange romance.

Director: Fatih Akin
Screenwriter: Fatih Akin
Distributor: Strand Releasing
Production Co: Bavaria Film International
Rating: R (Drug Content|Brutal Violence|Pervasive Language|Strong Graphic Sexuality)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 12, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $367.8K
Runtime: 2h 2m