Head-On
Head-On Image
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.0 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 27 Ratings

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  • Starring: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli
  • Summary: A marriage of convenience in Hamburg between two troubled Turks changes both their lives in this fine, gritty, contemporary love story. Director Fatih Akin dives deep into Turkish culture and explores the slippery slope of identity and cultural pride faced by Turks who either move to or are born in Germany. (Strand Releasing)… Collapse

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    100
    Not about crashing into walls or crashing into other people. It's about crashing into yourself and living to tell the tale.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    80
    A romantic comedy with jagged edges, Fatih Akin's exhilarating Head-On paves the road to love through miles of prickly thatch.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    80
    Vital and affecting romantic drama.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Parkinson
    60
    Ünel and the debuting Kekilli are as impressive as Akin’s atmospheric snapshots of Hamburg and Istanbul.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Diezmartinez
    10
    Un inclasificable melodrama sobre un turco, un vago sin oficio ni beneficio, que se casa con una desequilibrada y suicida mujer turca, con el fin de que ella gane su independencia y abandone el conservador hogar familiar. Ambientada en Alemania y con un seco desenlace en Estambul, Contra la Pared inicia como comedia de enredos, tiene ribetes de comedia romántica y continúa con una brutal serie de acontecimientos, tan sorpresivos como desarmantes en su cruda realidad… Expand
  2. FrankO
    9
    This is a strange film but I love movies that are off-beat, off kilter a bit. Akin does a great job of creating sympathetic characters but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I like being the observer in this film, watching Cahit and Sibel learn to be with each other, with all its pluses and minuses. Not a film just for anyone.… Expand
  3. HarkanwarA.
    8
    Excellent love-sex-hate drama.

See all 13 User Reviews

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