Tonight was the first "language group movie night." The film we saw is called Gegen die Wand (or "against the wall,") a sort of love story set against the backdrop of Turkish-German subculture. I loved this movie. Okay, I'm sure that part of the source of my enjoyment was the pride I felt in understanding the plot... the DVD had no English subtitle option, so we watched auf Deutsch with German subtitles for the Turkish dialogue.
The rest of it is hard to identify... There was no hollywood happy ending, but there was lots of very bloody, usually senseless self-inflicted violence, and drugs... not to mention graphic and violent sex scenes. Basically, the formula sounds like the antithesis of my moviegoing preferences. And yet, I found the story both plausible and compelling.
I've picked up bits and pieces of information about the situation of Turkish Ausländer in Germany, particularly the more sensational headlines regarding "honor killings" of young German-assimilated women from fundamentalist families. The protaganists of the film were portrayed as conflicted individuals caught between cultures, and succumbing to (and later overcoming) the destructive temptations of modern life. Maybe that's the key... it wasn't so necessary for the characters to find love together as it was for them to help one another find self-love and the strength to build a new life. As such, it's a beautiful story displayed with all the ugly pieces of the puzzle in full view. Nothing is glossed over.
So, if you're in the mood for a disturbing, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting story with an interesting cultural context, Gegen die Wand gets two thumbs up from me. I'd imagine that DVD's coded for region one probably have English subtitles, so check it out if you get the chance.
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