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By
DEBORAH NICOL
How do you get to Istanbul
from Hamburg? If you are following the chance
meeting of a starry-eyed girl, you take the long
way.
Moritz Bleibtreu ("Run Lola Run") stars in Fatih
Akin's road film as the straight-laced student
teacher that never does anything unusual. All that
changes when he buys a fate-laden ring from July
(an effervescent Christiane Paul). Teacher Daniel
blindly leads himself to believe that Melek, a
lovely young woman asking for directions, must be
asking for his love too. So begins his journey to
find her again, and in the process change his
boring ways and find his true love.
Sure, the ending is predictable, but Akin gives us
a good ride up to that point. The introduction of
Daniel is intriguing, and few would guess the
intentions of the first man who gives him a ride.
As his journey intertwines with July, the
craziness of the people they meet quickly rub off
on them. From an overly friendly trucker, to a
money-hungry crazy Budapest woman, to difficult
border guards -- everyone leaves their mark. And
in the end, it is not where you are going, but how
on earth you managed to survive, and, arrive
there.
DVD extras are plenty: a commentary by the
director, a behind-the-scenes documentary,
outtakes and deleted scenes, storyboards, "Das ist
Peace" green screen, and interviews. |
