The Edge of Heaven (2007)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

So many films tell bland stories based on clichéd characters, whose ultimate destiny is established in the first tracking shot. But this intelligent film is based on a set of interesting individuals whose evolving personal histories quietly command attention. There's an elderly Turkish man, living in Germany, capable of both gentlemanly and violent behaviour; his son, successful but shy and unconnected to those around him; the prostitute he takes as a substitute for a wife; her politically radical daughter; the German student that the daughter falls for; and the student's mother, a conservative hausfrau with a less conservative past. Their lives intersect, but messily, not neatly, and director Faith Akin chooses to end his film before being forced to a near resolution. The film doesn't exactly make you sit on the edge of your seat; but it feels both true to life and utterly personal. It's a thoughtful movie in the best sense of that word.

I just watched this film on the BBC iPlayer without knowing anything about the film or the director. I'm so glad that I actually took the time to see it. It overflows with human emotions, ranging from anger to romance, grief and forgiveness; an amazing story, as true as real life with characters that you can easily connect to which are brought to life by an exceptional cast. The film itself contains some spoilers that I originally thought were annoying but you then realise that the way the film is structured and the way the plot unfolds, are all elements a very cohesive output that is both creative and compelling. In terms of photography, I really loved some of the shots but I do not think that this was a priority for the director; and rightly so because the pace, story and emotions are so strong that I think any emphasis on photography would have took something away from the experience. Overall, a very nice surprise for me that will definitely make me watch some of the director's other films. Highly recommended.

The Edge of Heaven, its English title, a film by Faith Akin, explores the difficulty of human connection beset by geographical, political, but mostly human voids acting in random fashion which at the end, dramatize the advice of the philosopher, follow your bliss. The central characters, an old man and his son and a pair of mothers and their daughters, stumble through their lives in a struggle to realize their bliss in our age of rootlessness and political chaos. The only center in this is affection and its tenuous nature. It is the sole verity. While the film seems loosely constructed, it nicely balances the characters with the daughters at the center and the others, despite the powerful presence of Hanna Schygulla, in a secondary role. Indeed it is the daughters Nurgül Yesilçay as Ayten and Patrycia Ziolkowska as Lotte that are at the emotional center of the film and it only becomes alive when they are on screen. Indeed their sulfurous embrace in a crowded, smoky club was breathtaking.

This is such a complex movie with very complex characters. It also involves the tests of cultural differences. In the little traveling I've done, I always find myself looking over my shoulder, not because of the regular kinds of danger, but those cultural things of which I am ignorant. This has to do with subtle differences in government and the oppression of citizens. It has to do with the reaction toward those who defy authority. Also, Islam plays a large part in all of this. Ultimately, however, this is about a realistic portrayal of some incredibly interesting people, not because of what they have done, but how they are portrayed and react. I guess that makes it stellar acting. All the characters move around in a broad circle, motivated by their pain. There is the constant tug of how one is able to maintain a political agenda when one is faced with human tragedy. How much of life is about making a point. I kept waiting for all the pieces to be put together. They never are; but it is no matter. It's an excellent film.