tlavideo.com

Review

In Edge of Heaven, Fatih Akin deftly explores the notions of alienation, forgiveness, loss and redemption in the context of family disintegration. Set against the backdrop of the cultural divide between Germany and Turkey — the countries of his upbringing and heritage, respectively — his storytelling is refreshingly straightforward, even to the point of announcing the imminent death of key characters on placards that introduce the film's two main segments. In the first segment, Ali, an aging Turk living in Hamburg, convinces Yeter, a Turkish prostitute, to move in with him. He's paying, of course, and she's being harassed by some religious fundamentalists, so she agrees. His son Nejat, a German University professor, is mildly embarrassed at the arrangement. When tragedy strikes, Nejat sojourns to Istanbul in search of clarity. In the second segment, we meet Yeter's daughter, Ayten, a Turkish revolutionary who escapes capture and flees to Germany where she meets and falls in love with Lotte, a sprightly and idealistic college student who lives with her politically jaded mother, Susanne — marvelously portrayed by Hanna Schygulla. Akin shows remarkable care for his characters and his actors all give nuanced performances resulting in a mildly humorous and deeply moving film. (English, German and Turkish with English subtitles)

 -- Eric Moore