Product Description

The destinies of six characters are bound together by fate in this gripping and moving feature from acclaimed director Fatih Akin (Head On, Crossing the Bridge). The story begins as widower Ali seeks out companionship with the prostitute Yeter, setting in motion a chain of events that will link three families across different cultures, countries and generations. Skilfully constructed and brilliantly played by an outstanding cast, The Edge of Heaven is an ambitious and compelling tale of tragedy, betrayal, persecution and redemption. Extras: Theatrical Trailer / 'Diary of a Traveling Filmmaker' documentary / Interview with director Fatih Akin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6972 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-09
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 116 minutes

Synopsis
Director Fatih Akin (HEAD-ON) flies between Germany and Turkey for this drama. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE) explores the relationship between a father and son, as well as the contentious issues of immigration and bureaucracy.

Review
Glitteringly confident intriguing, complex, beautifully acted & directed like a very, very much better version of Babel --The Guardian

Review
Superb fascinating & inspiring --Empire

Customer Reviews

subtle and very watchable
The Edge of Heaven, to give you it's correct title, is a film that has received a lot of attention from worldwide film buffs. What you have here is a film that explores identity in a world in which realisations come much too late but, God willing, come.

There are several characters in the film whose stories interconnect and whose lives directly or indirectly affect one another's. The German professor, his father, his father's girlfriend, his father's girlfriend's daughter, his father's girlfriend's daughter's girlfriend...you see where this is going, a domino-like effect in narration which builds up throughout the film.

The Edge of Heaven does not attempt to bash you over the head with its meaning. It takes its time to show you, to move you, and its cinematography is never anything less than beautiful. The actors do a good job (although the Turkish girl is slightly grating) and my personal favourite is the old man: bitter, independent and very much alive.

Comes highly recommended.

Bogdan Tiganov - author of The Wooden Tongue Speaks- Romanians: Contradictions & Realities

Highest Quality
More than most contemporary movies is this a film that can be enjoyed by the most different audiences: young, old, high-brow, low-brow, those who like emotions, or action. It can be seen as mere entertainment, but also as a source of moral questions. More than once will things happen that run counter to our expectations - but the unexpected will never break the continuity. Germans and Turks will land in the countries of each other and (what is much more important) because of the most discrepant reasons.

Heartwarming and angry too
Fatih Akim is a very political director, and most Turks loathe him. In "The Edge of Heaven" ("Auf der anderen Seite") the central character who holds together the various stories is Aytan, also called Gul, a young activist (Kurdish, though this is not stated) who is involved in a small left-wing human rights group. Forced to flee the country, she becomes an illegal immigrant into Germany (this is a Turkish-German co-production), where she falls in love with a young German woman, Lotte. When, a year later, she is discovered, she is deported and imprisoned.

The parallel stories are the relationship between Lotte and her mother (the inspirational Hanna Schygulla); Lotte pushes her beyond her limits of toleration, and when she follows her lover to Turkey, she is disowned. She is killed accidentally in Turkey, which brings the Mother in her footsteps, to reconcile herself with Aytan.

The other story is also of a parent and child. Ali Akzu is a pensioner living in Germany who uses a Turkish prostitute, Yeter, and falls in love with her. Yeter is being threatened by Islamic fundamentalists, so agrees to move in with Ali. When she still tries to assert her independence as Ali still tries to treat her as if he owned her, he accidentally kills her in an argument. In a reverse of the other story, the son disowns the father. On release from prison, he is deported, so all the action shifts to Turkey.

The parallel stories are interwoven with great skill, and converge on the point where young and old can be reconciled, even if it takes the deaths of loved ones to bring people to this point. The closing image of the film, which had me in tears, is of Ali's son Nejat sitting on the beach of a little fishing village by the Black Sea, patiently waiting for his father to return, in order to foregive him.

There are however a few weaknesses which prevent this from being among Akim's best movies. There is one gaping hole in the plot, which depends on Lotte being told, for no very good reason, not to mention Aytan's real name. This prevents a recognition which would render one death and half the movie unnecessary. The other major weakness is the performance of Nurgül Yesilçay at Aytan, a superficial and hysterical portrayal. Akim has gone on the record to say that this is what he wanted, to convey the superficial quality of the character. The scene which shows this up most is her first meeting with Lotte's mother, where Schygulla's stillness and clarity show up Aytan's emotionalism for what it is.

It is true that she is extremely self-centred and not very likeable. Her politics are largely a matter of posturing. The central action which triggers the crisis, her theft of a policeman's gun as he is being beaten up, seems more like a prank than anything else. And her girlfriend's death is triggered by Aytan's selfish using of her. The effect of this is to make Lotte's instant offer of accommodation and subsequent infatuation fundamentally unbelievable.

In general it has to be said that the performances of the older actors knock spots off the younger ones, perhaps because the script gives them more opportunities than the underwritten parts of their juniors.

Viewers not familiar with Turkish politics will not catch some of the references to recent history and Kurdish liberation, for Atim makes no concessions to an international audience.

However, despite these reservations, there are sufficient "Wow!" moments here to make this wise and humane movie well worth its purchase price.