On The Other Side

The Edge of Heaven asks a very large question in its narrative and themes, but instead of answering this question, the writer/director, Faith Akin, allows the narrative to flow naturally in order to reach a conclusion that is both suiting and open to interpretation. The question posed is, to some degree, how are we all connected? This is, as I said, a very large question to pose and a question that is clearly indecipherable, but the important thing to recognize is that Akin recognizes this fact and decides not to directly pose this question, but instead takes a couple stories that intertwine and see how they unravel into one cohesive and interdependent piece. Though I said Akin doesn’t present an answer to this question, I must mention that what binds these stories together is death. Akin has proposed in the past that he wishes to create a trilogy that includes “love, death and the Devil” explored in three films that will explore them exclusively. Akin’s 2004 effort, Head-On, a film I’ve seen a long time ago and can’t comment on, was the first of the trilogy and dealt with love. As previously mentioned, Heaven deals with death, but it would be wrong to assume that Akin believes that death is the sole thing that binds all humans. After all, human existence and thought is heavily based on the balance of life and death, therefore if death binds all humans, shouldn’t life as well? This question must be considered when looking at what occurs to a certain character when another dies.

Heaven is divided into three chapters, two of which give away their conclusion in the chapters’ name. The first chapter is called, “The Death of Yeter,” the second, “The Death of Lotte” and the final chapter, “The Edge of Heaven” or its direct translation from German, “On the Other Side.” The film divides its settings between Turkey and Germany, the latter being Akin’s birthplace and the former being his cultural background. The first chapter, set in Germany, tells the story of an old man, Ali Aksu, who is a Turkish immigrant who becomes obsessed with a Turk prostitute who is first introduced as Jesse and later discovered to be named, Yeter. Ali’s obsession builds to the point where the widower decides to pay Yeter to live with him. Ali’s son, Nejat, is at first dismissive of this absurd situation, but he soon grows closer to Yeter when the two have to deal with Ali's stroke. The second chapter, which is set in both countries, shows Turkey in political turmoil. Ayten Öztürk, a female rebellion in Turkey associated with a “terrorist” group, is put into a situation where she must leave Turkey and meet with the activist’s group’s branch in Germany. Ayten is given the alias, Gül, by the German branch, but she ends up offending the male dominated activist branch and is kicked out of the safe house. Ayten soon meets a German student, Lotte, who welcomes the mysterious Turk into her house where Lotte lives with her mother, Susanne. Charlotte and Ayten soon develop a strong and romantic relationship until it’s cut off when a routine vehicle check results in Ayten fleeing from the car, scared that the police could discover her true identity. Under arrest, Ayten fails to convince the German government to allow her to stay there and is sent back to Turkey. Lotte feels like it’s her duty to move to Turkey and attempt to free Ayten by learning the Turkish legal system. I won’t divulge how the two are killed, but as a result of the deaths of Yeter and Lotte, Susanne decides to continue her daughter’s fight to free Ayten from the Turkish women’s prison, while Nejat quits his post as a professor at a German university and moves to Turkey and spontaneously buys a small bookshop. Just as a reminder, many details were left out of this summary especially plot points concerning each character’s connection to the others.

Heaven is a stunningly beautiful film. Akin uses many wide shots showing the environment that the characters are in. It’s very rare to see a close-up in this film, which is perfectly suitable to the film’s themes and nature. Akin wants to show the grand web in which the characters live in and how these settings are a significant factor in how each one of the characters interact with each other. One scene in particular that truly stuck with me was the scene where Lotte and Ayten act upon their attraction to each other and begin to kiss during a party scene. Akin uses a wide shot, allowing everything and everyone in the crowded frame to be in focus and then the camera slowly pans towards the couple. Filmed in slow motion, the scene’s sensuality truly blossoms under these filmic conditions. In order to cement that feeling of connection between the characters, Akin uses a technique where a film’s shot is shown twice, but with a different character in each individual shot. This can be seen when the shot of Susanne leaving her apartment is exactly framed and set up with the same setting and extras of a previous shot of Lotte leaving her apartment. This technique of repeating a shot’s aesthetic further develops the idea of interconnectivity, regardless of one’s death.

The Edge of Heaven is an incredibly daring and yet simple film. Every scene is calculated to such a large degree that it warrants more study than a single viewing, yet the characters and story is so well plotted and developed that the film can be enjoyed as a great and simple tale about everyday people and how they interact with the world we live in. This is an incredibly strong that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a story about politics, love and suspense, to the cinephile who’s looking for something that will challenge the ideas of narrative, editing and cinematography. Faith Akin is a director that deserves much attention and one I will follow for many years to come.