Shariq’s Département

As the Cannes film festival draws to a close, it is appropriate to talk about one of my favourite movies from the 2007 official selection, “The Edge of Heaven” from the talented German-Turkish director, Fatih Akin, which has opened for a limited run at the Film Forum and won the prize for best screenplay at Cannes.

The movie, which starts off with melodrama (Turkish older male immigrant to Germany falls in love with a Turkish-German prostitute and then accidentally kills her), tells interveaving tales of multiple characters.  The accidental killer is jailed while his nerdy, bookish son, Nejat, travels to Turkey to find the prostitute’s runaway daughter.  The daughter, meanwhile enters Germany illegally and the movie shows them crossing paths without noticing each other.  One of the points the movie wants to make is that we are each on our own journeys, and sometimes we are not supposed to meet as we fulfil our destinies.

[The following paragraphs reveal significant plot details]

The son settles in Turkey, buying and running a bookstore, while the prostitute’s daughter, Ayten, is seduced by a caring, blond German lesbian who falls in love with her.  Ultimately, complications ensue as Ayten is deported from Germany, her girlfriend follows her and is killed accidentally by purse-snatchers.  Ayten is shown to be a user, while the German girl, Lotte, is a giver, wanting to help Ayten.

She dies for a reason, in this movie all about forgiveness, love and serendipity in life.  Her mother, an unforgiving German in the beginning of the move, who disapproves of her daughter’s lifestyle choices, has a vision of her daughter’s spirit in Turkey and is suddenly transformed by the love in her daughter’s smile.  She begins to understand about love and forgiveness, and continues on Lotte’s struggle and mission to help Ayten.  Ayten is herself reformed by all the kindness she receives.

Ultimately, Nejat and Lotte’s mother spend time together, and we begin to understand that they are at a similar point in their lives and can help each other.

The movie’s last scene shows Nejat staring out at the horizon at the shore of a beach.  To me, this scene is symbolic of “The Other Side” which is the literal translation of the German title of this fabulous movie: Auf der anderen seite.  A spirituality pervades the movie - we are being guided by our life’s experiences to learn and should approach unexpected events and misfortunes as a way to move forward, a little wiser, and, hopefullly, better, loving human beings.