'Auf der anderen Seite'

After a film in English, Urdu and French (‘A mighty heart’) comes a film in Turkish, German and English. Fatih Akin’s ‘Auf der anderen Seite’ (English title: 'The Edge of Heaven') is a great movie. Beautifully filmed and constructed, it intertwines different stories, focusing on a Turkish immigrant and his son on the one hand, a German woman and her rebellious young daughter on the other hand, and in the middle a Turkish prostitute in Germany and her estranged, activist daughter. As a friend of mine put it, it’s the story of people who are looking for each other – I would add it is also about young men and women trying to work out their identity in a multicultural world. This may sound very conceptual, but ultimately, it’s a gripping story that moves you to tears, and the director is a master at his craft.
If one of the four leading ladies (Hanna Schygulla, Nurgul Yesilcay, Patrycia Ziolkowska and Nursel Koese) doesn’t walk away with the Prix d’Interprétation Féminine, I don’t know who can. The gorgeous Nurgul Yesilcay is bound for a career in Hollywood.
The audience applauded wildly throughout the entire credits (a rare feat) and the director and his actors (see picture above), all teary-eyed, were given a standing ovation. Cannesgirl yelled “Bravo!” at the top of her lungs.