Auf der anderen Seite (2007)

Director:

Fatih Akin

Writer:

Fatih Akin (writer)

Release Date:

27 September 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A Turkish man travels to Istanbul to find the daughter of his father's former girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Turkey | Istanbul | Germany | Death | Prostitute

Awards:

21 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Nurgül Yesilçay	...	Ayten Öztürk aka Gül
Baki Davrak	...	Nejat Aksu
Tuncel Kurtiz	...	Ali Aksu
Hanna Schygulla	...	Susanne Staub
Patrycia Ziolkowska	...	Charlotte 'Lotte' Staub
Nursel Köse	...	Yeter aka Jessy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ali Akdeniz	...	Plainclothes Policeman May 1
Aliye Alioglu	...	Old woman in Camburnu
Asuman Altinay	...	Türkan
Onder Cakar	...	Riza Bey
Erkan Can	...	Nejat's Cousin
Emre Cosar	...	Cengiz
Gengiz Daner	...	Gas station owner
Sevilay Demirci	...	Nurhan
Elcim Eroglu	...	Elcim
Gürsoy Gemec	...	Son of gas station owner
Cigdem Göymen	...	Selen
Nurten Güner	...	Nurten
Faik Hüzmeli	...	Waiter Londra
Ilhan Hüzmeli	...	Waiter Londra
Nadire Irtel	...	Woman in staircase
Nejat Isler	...	Commissioner
Jörg Jänicke	...	ASB
Ömer Kaar	...	Turkish street kid
Salih Kaar	...	Turkish street kid
Yusuf Kaba	...	Flute player
Sileyman Kaplan	...	Arif (as Süleyman 'Sly' Kaplan)
Gökhan Kirac	...	Young Police Officer
Güven Kiraç	...	Security guard
Feridun Koc	...	Security guard
Mert Koc	...	Turkish street kid
Öznur Kula	...	Prisoner
Sule Nayir	...	Prison guard
Stefanie Piehl	...	Policewomen traffic check
Yelda Reynaud	...	Emine
Lars Rudolph	...	Markus Obermüller
Turgay Tanülkü	...	Cem
Andreas Thiel	...	Konsulatsmitarbeiter
Gükce Isil Tuna	...	Prisoner
Annette Uhlen	...	Judge
Idil Üner	...	Doctor
Andreas Westphal	...	Policeman traffic check
Michael Wolf	...	Border Official

Directed by
Fatih Akin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fatih Akin		writer

Produced by
Ali Akdeniz	....	co-producer
Fatih Akin	....	producer
Paolo Colombo	....	co-producer
Alberto Fanni	....	co-producer
Nevra Koçoglu	....	supervising producer
Klaus Maeck	....	producer
Funda Odemis	....	co-producer
Erhan Ozogul	....	co-producer
Christian Springer	....	line producer
Andreas Thiel	....	producer
Jeanette Würl	....	producer
Flaminio Zadra	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Shantel

Cinematography by
Rainer Klausmann

Film Editing by
Andrew Bird

Casting by
Monique Akin

Production Design by
Sirma Bradley
Tamo Kunz

Art Direction by
Seth Turner

Costume Design by
Katrin Aschendorf

Makeup Department
Maike Heinlein	....	makeup artist
Mediha Safak	....	makeup artist
Daniel Schröder	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Tolga Dundar	....	assistant production manager
Aksel Kamber	....	production manager
Tina Mersmann	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Surk-Ki Schrade	....	assistant director
Seren Yüce	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jan Feil	....	property master: inside
Elif Tasçioglu	....	property master

Sound Department
Ahmt Sut Alban	....	sound
Richard Borowski	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andreas Hildebrandt	....	sound designer
Jörg Krieger	....	sound designer
Martin Langenbach	....	foley artist
Kai Lüde	....	sound mixer
Jörn Martens	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Peter Wiemker	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Philipp Eckel	....	film recording
Birk Ewert	....	2D graphic artist
Michael Krämer	....	digital compositor
Lisa Riemer	....	digital intermediate coordinator
Philipp Schneider	....	visual effects editor
Christoph Schröer	....	lead digital compositor
Matthias Schulze-Kirketerp	....	digital colorist
Alex Brommer	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Ali Haznebar	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Julien Aksoy	....	third assistant camera: Istanbul
Gokhan Atilmis	....	director of photography: Istanbul
Emre Basaran	....	focus puller: second unit
Faruk Belbidi	....	dolly grip
Kuray Benirtray	....	lighting technician
Matthias Bode	....	grip assistant
Ethem Dag	....	second assistant camera: Istanbul
Julia Drache	....	second assistant camera
Özgür Eken	....	first assistant camera: Istanbul
Torsten Lemke	....	lighting design
Astrid Miegel	....	first assistant camera
Olcay Oguz	....	camera operator: second unit
Carsten Scharrmann	....	key grip
Kerstin Stelter	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chandra Liebetanz	....	wardrobe assistant
Ceylan Senbark	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Ursina Merkt	....	post-production assistant
Marcus Ott	....	supporting editor

Music Department
Klaus Maeck	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Ayse Barim	....	production consultant
Can Bemir	....	office runner: Turkey
Emre Cosar	....	production accountant
Agnès Leroy	....	press attachée: France
Margaret Metz	....	production coordinator
Céline Petit	....	press attachée: France

Thanks
Andreas Thiel	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Anka Film
• BKM (funding)
• Dorje Film
• Filmförderung Hamburg (funding)
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA) (funding)
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (funding)
• Kulturelle Filmförderung Schleswig-Holstein (funding)
• Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
• nordmedia Fonds GmbH (funding)

Distributors

• First Distributors (2007) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Bitters End (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cineworx (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Folkets Bio (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Medyavizyon (2007) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Pandora Filmproduktion (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Pyramide Distribution (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sharmill Distributors (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Strand Releasing (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Imovision (2009) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Noble Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Corazón International  publicity
• Mama Filmcatering  catering

Also Known As:

The Edge of Heaven (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Ai confini del paradiso (Italy)
On the Other Side (International: English title) (literal title)
Yasamin kiyisinda (Turkey: Turkish title)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Germany | Turkey | Italy

Language:

German | Turkish | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:M | UK:15 (re-rating on appeal) | UK:18 (original rating) | France:Unrated | Sweden:15 | Ireland:15A (re-rating on appeal) | Ireland:16 (original rating) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Finland:K-11 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Bremen, Germany

Company:

Anka Film

Trivia:

Fatih Akin originally conceived the film as being part Missing (1982) and part Frantic (1988).

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Lotte is driving through Bremen, she passes a bus in which Jeter (Jessy) and Baki were sitting after visiting Baki's father in the hospital. The first time we see them sitting in the bus, they are sitting together in the same seat. When Lotte passes the bus, they are sitting opposite of each other.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fatih Akin - Tagebuch eines Filmreisenden (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Menuet In G Moll, No. 5 Klavierbüchlein für Anna Magdalena

Once every few years, a film this touching comes along

I usually comment on films right after I've seen them. However, "Auf der anderen Seite" (The Edge of Heaven), touched me in a way that few films do, so a month has passed.

This story of two sets of mothers and daughters, a father and his son...and a gun seems familiar, but its resolution is anything but. To lay out the plot would be daunting. So much ground is covered, yet it unfolds effortlessly. F a t i h Akin's screenplay is elliptical--the story starts where it finishes--but by the end, when the opening scene is replayed, our journey with these characters puts us, indeed, on the edge of transcendence.

Amid the desperation on display, small details brim over the images: a son waters his father's tomato plants pausing to taste the ripened fruit, a mother pits cherries that stain her fingers, another manicures her nails to avoid a quarrel, we imagine a bookstore's--specifically a German language bookstore in Istanbul--smell and the safety it can bring to a foreigner.... These domestic details are set against much larger, although finally insignificant, struggles: the cultural divide of immigrants, students revolting against an oppressive government, how imprisonment can deaden the soul. But F a t i h Akin wants the basic struggles of family bonds to be central here. It's the resolution of family rifts--small and large, emotional and physical--that are urgent.

The choice of settings, music, lighting... all carefully selected to build toward one moment that catches us off guard. When a foreigner asks "What is Kurban Bayrami?" (a Turkish holiday) the many seemingly disparate elements that we've been watching--in good faith because they're so rivetingly told--suddenly come together, it almost knocked the breath out of me.

Whether or not we as viewers have lost a father or mother or a child, through death, physical separation or emotional turmoil, we can understand what these characters suffer. And how all that can be healed—the willingness to have faith that good intentions can mend this troubled world—is something like a miracle to find illustrated on film. The weapons these characters lay down to pursue goodness don't necessarily have the effect they intend, but as we watch lives torn apart and then healed we see what they don't. And we carry that lesson out of theater with us.