The Edge of Heaven
The Edge of Heaven has a litany of near misses that could have prevented tragedy if only connections had been made in this ping pong game of life between Munich and Istanbul. Intricately interwoven are the lives of Ali an expatiate Turk pensioner living in Germany who turns out to be far less benign than at first glance. Yeter is the prostitute that he hires to live with him. She thinks that Ayten her 27 year old estranged daughter is studying at home in Turkey but she’s actually on the lam in Germany due to her political rabble rousing in Istanbul. For reasons that become apparent Ali’s son Nejat makes it his mission to find Ayten and although their paths cross they never meet. Ayten gets romantically entwined with Lotte, a German woman who will stop at nothing secure Ayten’s release from a Turkish jail following her deportation. Lotte’s disapproving mother Susanne soon follows her to Istanbul where coincidentally a warm relationship develops with Najat. It’s impossible to flesh out this tale further without getting into a lot of minutia but as the story unfolds and these characters distractedly flash by one another it’s easy to see why this film won the best screenplay award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Tragically two of the characters must perish before we arrive at the edge of heaven.