Fatih Akin, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his 2004 film Head-On, weaves a magical web with his tale of six crossed lives and destinies, where one man’s quest to set right a wrong is the beginning of a chain of events and consequences that is greater than them all.
Retired widower Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz), residing in Germany, sees a solution to loneliness when he meets prostitute Yeter (Nursel Köse). Ali proposes to the fellow Turkish native to live with him in exchange for a monthly stipend. Ali’s bookish son Nejat (Turkish star Baki Davrak) seems disapproving about his bully father’s choice. But the young German professor quickly grows fond of kind Yeter, especially upon discovering most of her hard-earned money is sent home to Turkey for her daughter’s university studies.
The accidental death of Yeter distances father and son even more, emotionally and physically. Nejat travels to Istanbul to begin an organized search for Yeter’s daughter Ayten (Nurgül Yesilçay in a bold and compelling performance). He decides to stay in Turkey and trades places with the owner of a German bookstore who goes home to Germany. What Nejat doesn’t know is that 20-something political activist Ayten is in Germany, having fled the Turkish police. Alone and penniless, Ayten is befriended by German student Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska), who is immediately seduced by the young Turkish woman’s charms and political situation. Lotte invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, a gesture not particularly pleasing to her conservative mother Susanne. Ayten is arrested and confined for months while awaiting political asylum. When her plea is denied, Ayten is deported and imprisoned in Turkey. Passionate Lotte decides to abandon everything to help Ayten.
In Turkey, Lotte gets caught up in the frustrating bureaucracy trying to free Ayten. A chance bookstore meeting will lead her to becoming Nejat’s roommate. A tragic event will bring Susanne (the legendary Hannah Schygulla in an award-winning performance) to Istanbul to help fulfill her daughter’s mission. Emotional moments spent with Susanne will inspire Nejat to seek out his estranged father, now residing on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
A moving tale of love and loss, The Edge Of Heaven won the Best Screenplay award at the 2007 Festival de Cannes.
Don’t forget to catch this movie @ PVR Juhu, Mumbai, 8:50 pm
Ever since the launch of the 24 hour NDTV Lumière channel, my fetish for quality movies just doesn’t seem to get over. I am eagerly waiting to watch “The Son’s Room”, a moving drama about a successful psychiatrist Giovanni’s struggle to hold his family together in the wake of a devastating tragedy that consumes his teenage kid, Andrea, in a scuba diving accident. The family retreats into their own private grief, as they struggle with the shock of the death.
It’s only when an unknown girlfriend from Andrea’s past visits the family, that the family finally unites in their grief, and move towards the future.
This heartbreaking family drama won the Palme d’Or at the 2001 Festival de Cannes, and a host of international awards.
It’s being telecast on Sunday the 19th, October at 10pm and on Monday the 20th, October at 7pm. All in all, a weekend that offers a delectable fare for movie lovers.
atih Akin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Claude Lelouche,Francois Ozone, Elia Suleiman ¦.now watch all their movies without getting up from your couch!
NDTV Lumiere is launching its 24 hr TV Channel showcasing films by these masters and many more on 10th October at 10 p.m in India.
The first months schedule has everything -romance, passion, racism, drug wars, politics, crime, caramel and horror ( The Orphanage a real shudder fest produced by Guilermo Del Toro premieres on television! )
The October line-up is really tempting¦The first movie- Gone with the woman is quite unique, witty, clever and colourful.
My wife is an actress is based on actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. Written and directed by her husband, Yvan Attal, it is an ode to Charlotte, and a wryly funny comedy about jealousy.
Then there is also Fratricide edgy, hard hitting streets of Hamburg gangs¦ also looking forward for the Louis Malle Masterclass which features the early films of master filmmaker.
For those who were interested in the show-timings of The Edge of Heaven, here they are!
Bangalore PVR Forum Mall - 7.50 pm
Delhi PVR Saket 9pm
Mumbai - PVR Juhu 8.50 pm.
Also, dont miss the other two films playing in theatres from the 10th- Three Monkeys in Kolkata and Padre Nuestro in Mumbai. The show timings for them - Padre Nuestro Fame Malad 8.45 pm
Three Monkeys Fame South City Kolkata 7.15 pm
After a tremendous response to its theatrical releases and DVDs, NDTV Lumiere definitely looks set to capture the market for world cinema in India with the launch of this channel.
Its time to get addicted to the luxury of the best of contemporary , cutting-edge world cinema at home, without moving an inch.
Below are the prime time properties with a synopsis on a few of the movies¦
Gone With The Woman Friday 10th Oct, 10pm
A wryly gentle Norwegian comedy about a young man whose life is suddenly invaded by the beautiful Marianne, who moves into his house and turns his life upside-down. Winner of the Discovery Award for Best Film at the 2007 Hollywood Film Festival.
Director: Petter Naess Country: Norway Year of Production: 2007
Kick back and relax on our Friday Lounge with a selection of films that are as warm and fuzzy as a pair of comfy slippers.
Elevator To The Gallows Saturday 11th Oct, 3pm
French director Louise Malles feature debut, a gripping crime thriller about a woman, her lover and committing the perfect crime. Set to an exquisite jazz score by Miles Davis, winner of Prix Louis Delluc, 1957.
Director: Louise Malle Country: France Year of Production: 1958
Each month we showcase the work of one exceptional filmmaker in Saturday Masterclass at 3pm.
48 Hours A Day Saturday 11th Oct, 10pm
A hilarious French comedy about the fate of modern women who continually juggle with their jobs, husbands, children and domestic lives.
Director: Catherine Castel Country: France Year of Production: 2008
Saturday Box Office brings to you the most popular blockbusters from around the globe.
Fratricide Sunday 12th Oct, 10pm
A hard-hitting tragic tale of the struggle for identity among Kurdish emigrants in urban Germany. Director Yilmaz Arslans film won the Silver Leopard at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival.
Director: Yilmaz Arslan Country: Germany Year of Production: 2005
Wrap up your weekend with the finest award-winning cinema from the best international film festivals, on Sunday Showcase
Garage Monday 13th Oct, 10pm
Josie, caretaker of a crumbling gas station in a small Irish town, is a social misfit. His lonely, yet peaceful life is threatened when he strikes up a friendship with David, a shy teenager. Winner of the C.I.C.A.E. Award at 2007 Festival de Cannes.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson Country: Ireland Year of Production: 2007
We present the work of promising young maverick directors on Project Mondays
The Housekeeper Tuesday 14th Oct, 10pm
Acclaimed French director Claude Berris romantic drama about newly single 50-something Jacques, who hires a much younger housekeeper and is not sure how to handle his conflicting emotions and her unabashed affection for him.
Director: Claude Berri Country: France Year of Production: 2002
Tuesdays showcase critically acclaimed films from across the world on Festival Flix.
The Caiman Wednesday 15th Oct, 10pm
Italian director Nanni Morettis drama about a movie producer struggling with a floundering marriage, errant kids and rising debts. Destiny takes him to a script called The Caiman. Palme dOr nominee at 2006 Festival de Cannes.
Director: Nanni Moretti Country: Italy Year of Production: 200
Festival Flix continues on Wednesdays, bringing you more quality world cinema.
The Room Of Death Thursday 16th Oct, 10pm
A French murder mystery thriller involving two out-of-work computer programmers, embroiled in a web of murder, kidnappings, police chases and a bag full of cash. Lumiere Award winner for Best Writer.
Director: Alfred Lot Country: France Year of Production: 2007
Keeping you on the edge of your seats is ATW (action, thrillers, war) on Thursdays.
When I saw Fatih Akin’s ‘ The Edge of Heaven ‘ - winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2007 Festival de Cannes at this year’s MAMI Film Fesitval in Mumbai, I was spellbound. Hearing that the film will be released theatrically in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore at PVR on 10th October makes me rejoice all the more!
After Head-On and Crossing The Bridge: The Sound Of Istanbul (2005), Akin puts his mighty filmmaking talents into a complex film that has been hailed as his best yet.
This German/ Turkish film has already won multiple international awards and has screened at various film festivals from around the world.
It’s great to see such gems regularly releasing in the major cities of India courtesy NDTV Lumiere. They have also released a bunch of amazing world cinema titles in India on DVDs. The current list includes The Orphanage – it’s quite spooky, Goodbye Children ( Louis Malle probably at his best! ), Half Moon, Crossing the Bridge, Head On ( another Fatih Akin masterpiece) and a few more.
Below are comments from Fatih Akin on The Edge of Heaven and his films in general -
Courtesy : Match Factory
—–
Erich Fromm’s “The Art of Loving” influenced me a lot. I’m fascinated by human relationships. Not just boy meets girl or in a sexual sense, but also between parents and children. All human relationships. I believe 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.
Shooting In Turkey
I finally started shooting on May 1, 2006. The Edge Of Heaven was shot in Germany – Bremen and Hamburg, and in Turkey – Istanbul, the Black Sea Coast and Trabzon. The shoot lasted about 10 weeks. For a filmmaker, Turkey is a great place to shoot. Shooting in Germany is much less interesting. It can be attractive, but you have to look hard or create it. The light is extraordinary in Turkey because of its geographic position. For me, shooting in Istanbul is like shooting in New York. They’re both attractive and cosmopolitan. Each city is a megalopolis. I love to shoot in cities. I’m a big city child. It’s what I know. In The Edge Of Heaven, the city of Istanbul is actually a character. Since she doesn’t speak the language, foreigner Lotte becomes lost as she confronts Istanbul. But I also wanted to break the urban image with scenes in the countryside and the coast.
In Between Two Cultures
I have this Turkish background and I have this German background. I was born in Germany, but I’m in between the two cultures. Educated in Europe, but also raised in Turkish by my parents. Turkish culture has always been a part of my life. I traveled to Turkey with my family every summer since I was a kid. Since I’m in between these two cultures, it’s natural that my films are in between, too.
Love-Hate Relationship With Turkey
I have this love-hate relationship with Turkey, a very complicated relationship. I became much more interested in Turkey after I finished school in 1995. I decided to make my first short film there, Weed in 1996. I saw another face of Turkey and I became more and more fascinated. I became more Turkish. With every meter of film I shoot in Turkey, I try to understand the country more and more. But the more I understand it, the more it makes me sad. I hate the politics, the nationalism. Look at what is happening in that country.
History repeating itself. The same mistakes again and again. I love that country, but shooting in Turkey takes a lot of energy, tears and blood.
Turkish Bureaucracy
The image of Turkish bureaucracy in The Edge Of Heaven isn’t harsh, it’s Kafkaesque. This is not criticism, it’s truth without comment. In the film, when the political activist is arrested in front of Ayten, the happy crowd applauses. The sad thing is that this happened naturally in rehearsal, the extras just automatically clapped. This really only happens when those arrested are considered to be “enemies of the state”. Fascism is alive and well in the streets of Istanbul.
Count The Turkish Flags
There are a lot of Turkish flags seen in The Edge Of Heaven. Go ahead and count them. I guess the nationalists will interpret that as a sign of love for Turkey, but I didn’t put one in. They were all already there. I didn’t change the locations. I shot them the way they were. Maybe I went too far, there are so many Turkish flags!
Intelligence Is Sexy
I think intelligence is sexy, so I made the character of Nejat a professor. And a German professor of Turkish origin breaks certain clichés which still exist in Germany. Turks today play a significant role in German culture, politics and science. They’re not just hustling in the streets. For Yeter, education is important enough for her to prostitute herself to provide one for her daughter. Nejat can relate to this desire for knowledge. I liked the irony that when Nejat goes to Istanbul he trades places with a German intellectual running a bookstore.
Education Can Save The World
Literacy, education, plays a profound role in The Edge Of Heaven. A book is a key image in the conflict between Nejat and his father. Which book to show? It was a very difficult decision for me. I didn’t want “Siddartha” or “The Hobbit” or anything too full of some parallel meaning. So I thought I would advertise my friend’s fantastic book. I chose “Die Tochter Des Schmieds” (“The Blacksmith’s Daughter”) by Selim Ozdogan. In regards to the film, the key element is about reading. Reading stands for education. And education is the only thing that can save the world.
Hannah and Tuncel
I imagined this German mother coming to Istanbul looking for her missing daughter. I had this image early on with Hanna Schygulla in mind. I had met her in Belgrade in 2004 and she put a spell on me. I was really into the idea of working with her. Some German journalists have compared my career to that of Fassbinder’s, but I don’t see it at all. I come from the streets, not the theater. Yilmaz Güney is more my background, independent against the norm. What Fassbinder was to Hanna, Güney was similar to actor Tuncel Kurtiz, who I also imagined early on to be part of The Edge Of Heaven. But my goal wasn’t to use them as icons from films by Fassbinder and Güney. It would have been vain of me to try and use them like no one else before. I didn’t want my direction to be affected like that. For me, my job is storytelling. And both Hanna and Tuncel fit the idea I had for the parents in the story.
Sampling
The challenge for me as a filmmaker is not to repeat myself. I like to surprise myself and ultimately the audience. I hope that all my films will seem different. I guess we’ll be able to judge that five films from now. When my ideas come, they all come at the same time and they come from a lot of different sources. I even recycle, like sampling in hip hop music, which I love. They use known bass lines to create something new from something old, and it’s a sort of homage at the same time. Some of the issues in The Edge Of Heaven were sampled from Crossing The Bridge. The character of the political activist Ayten was inspired by those Kurdish singers. Here in the West, we don’t have to fight for freedom of speech. But the war for justice is still going on in Turkey.
Passion Is Sexy
Fighting for something with passion is sexy. And I wanted a sexy character for The Edge Of Heaven. Ayten is very emotional. She’s street-smart and very attractive. She’s a political person. At first, actress Nurgül Yesilçay didn’t feel comfortable with the political background of the character. When she finally agreed, she went all the way. I was fascinated by how well she knew her character. I know a lot of women like Ayten and Nurgül is not one of them. Ayten is sort of a female version of me. She believes in one thing, but later she will surprise herself and change her ideas.
Am I political?
I want to change the world - am I political? My film hopes the world will change – is it political? Probably more philosophical, but I think everything is political in today’s world. In the times we live in, I think it’s impossible to separate life and politics and art. I believe in the stuff I believe in, but I might change my mind tomorrow. I try not to be dogmatic. Whatever people believe in – religion or politics – everything has limits, everything heads in one direction. I wanted to make a film about going to the other side of all that, going beyond all that. I tried to make this film with some distance, as a viewer from the outside. But it didn’t seem to be possible. Sometimes it’s not the head which directs. I guess it’s a part of me that’s much more irrational, like the heart. Germany And Turkey
As Germans, Susanne and Lotte represent the European Union, while Ayten and Yeter represent Turkey. Everything that happens between them in The Edge Of Heaven is representative of the relationship of those systems. I had some fun with the argument between Susanne and Ayten regarding the European Union. But where I stand is not the point. I wrote this dialogue based on what I have often heard from real people around me. By the end of the film, German Susanne and Turkish Ayten both experience a profound change in how they see and feel about things. In the bookstore scene at the end where they hug, I noticed a small detail only in the edit. Not far from the women, there are two small flags, one German, the other Turkish. My friend and partner, Andreas Thiel, who passed away during the last week of the shoot, put them there. This stands for something. I guess it’s also a film about the relationship between the two countries.
NDTV Lumière is the first movement of its kind in India that aims to meet the long-existing need of film enthusiasts. We will provide access to top quality cinema from across the world, premiering the best of world cinema in Indian theatres immediately following their worldwide release. Our movies will also be available across multiple platforms such as theatrical releases, home video, a 24 hour TV Channel, pay-per-view across digital platforms and on the internet.
With a range of titles handpicked from over 35 different countries, our movies reflect a wide range of cultures, and varied styles of film making. Through our multi-platform release approach, we will look to satiate the need of a growing segment of a globe-trotting, internationally aware and culturally conscious Indian audience.
The accidental death of Yeter distances father and son even more, emotionally and physically. Nejat travels to Istanbul to begin an organized search for Yeter’s daughter Ayten (Nurgül Yesilçay in a bold and compelling performance). He decides to stay in Turkey and trades places with the owner of a German bookstore who goes home to Germany. What Nejat doesn’t know is that 20-something political activist Ayten is in Germany, having fled the Turkish police.
Ever since the launch of the 24 hour NDTV Lumière channel, my fetish for quality movies just doesn’t seem to get over. I am eagerly waiting to watch “The Son’s Room”, a moving drama about a successful psychiatrist Giovanni’s struggle to hold his family together in the wake of a devastating tragedy that consumes his teenage kid, Andrea, in a scuba diving accident. The family retreats into their own private grief, as they struggle with the shock of the death.
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