Yeter (Yeter Öztürk) is a middle-aged prostitute operating out of a small town in Germany, where she is constantly accosted by locals who deride her for forgetting about her heritage. She encounters Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz), a fellow Turkish immigrant who becomes a regular customer. Less a way of satiating his desires, and more of a chance for him to feel closer to his homeland, his relationship with Yeter begins to flourish, much to the chagrin of his son, Nejat (Baki Davrak), a university academic who is detached from reality, caught in his own world between two different cultures. When an argument goes wrong, Yeter is unfortunately killed, and it’s up to Nejat to go in search of her daughter, Ayten (Nurgül Yeşilçay), a young woman whose political activism have forced her into association with a group of rebels who are taking the government to task for the injustices they place on their civilians. When she is caught, she flees to Germany with the intention of finding her mother, who she has been deluded into believing works in a shoe store, rather than knowing the truth about her profession. Her journey into the foreign land is tumultuous, but she is insistent on reuniting with her mother, not being aware of the tragic incident that befell her recently. She is also running from the authorities, who will undoubtedly punish her for illegally entering the country – she gets assistance from Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkovska), another young woman who takes her in, to the bewilderment of her mother (Hanna Schygulla), who finds herself harbouring a fugitive, much to her protestations – but even she soon learns to accept the fact that empathy is occasionally all one needs to survive this treacherous world.

The Edge of Heaven (German: Auf der anderen Seite) is a tremendously powerful film. Fatih Akin crafted a delicate portrayal of the human condition that looks beneath superficial surfaces like race, gender or sexuality, and instead endeavours to find the common truths that underpin all our lives, questioning the mutual quandaries we have, and demonstrating that, regardless of our background, we all have the same existential challenges, as well as reacting to tragedy in much the same way, even if we’re culturally-conditioned to look at life another way. Certainly not a film that conveys its message in any discernibly subtle way, nor one that seems to be able to balance everything quite as well as it believes it does (unfortunately a result of Akin’s more heavyhanded control of the material, which was understandably difficult, but which deserved a more nuanced approach). Yet, peering below the exterior, and looking at this film less as a social statement and more of a quiet character study, it becomes clear how the director was driven less by the story and more by the message he wants to convey, namely that of provoking some difficult questions and exploring more uncomfortable narrative territory as a way of giving insight into the minds of a group of ordinary people, who are on different paths but are motivated by the same desire for the truth.

One of the more potent criticisms towards The Edge of Heaven is that it has an admirable message, it just goes about conveying it in a more inaccessible way, where the execution is too convoluted, and distracting from the more interesting commentary being made by the story. Akin was clearly inspired by the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, particularly in how this film seems to derive a lot of its content from the more socially-charged dramas that Fassbinder was known to make. The difference is that Akin struggles to find the balance between tragedy and optimism, with The Edge of Heaven sometimes being quite an overwrought ordeal, and the experience of watching this film is more challenging than it is heartfelt. However, this doesn’t warrant a complete dismissal of The Edge of Heaven, as Akin does manage to derive a great deal of emotional resonance from a relatively scattered plot, and while the way he chooses to convey it is far from ideal (particularly in how the film handles the timeframe in which this story occurs extremely poorly), the overall result is worth considering, solely for the sake of the incredibly interesting approach Akin takes to cultural differences, as well as his clear passion that shines through, especially when the film that was inspired by it doesn’t seem all that interested in going further than the bare minimum. This is a perfect example of an audacious premise suffering under the misguided over-enthusiasm of a director who could have benefitted from some more restraint in his style.

The cast helps Akin tremendously in bringing this story to the screen, with the actors doing a great deal in their interpretation of these various characters. The Edge of Heaven lacks a definitive lead and is structured as three separate chapters that see a different character being the focal point, with each of these three roles being the lead of their own segment, and a supportive presence in the others, which is at the very least one of the few truly remarkable and revolutionary elements of this film. The director does well to evoke memorable performances out of his actors – Baki Davrak is quietly intense as the frustrated academic, whose arc bookends the film, and whose emotional journey is the core of the story (even though he is perhaps the character who loses the least). Nurgül Yeşilçay contrasts him as a feisty, rebellious young woman who is daunted by the prospect of a world she doesn’t quite understand, and who is fighting out against the injustices she sees around her, becoming something of a proverbial martyr for a cause she isn’t so sure she wants to be a part of. In keeping with the Fassbinder connection, Hanna Schygulla is the third central character. Arriving late into the film, her role of Susanne is one that we expect to be a small part that would be an adversary to Ayten, who we are led to believe is the focus of the film. However, the final act of The Edge of Heaven gives Schygulla the chance to remind us of the reasons behind her historical acclaim as one of the European arthouse’s most beguiling stars – her control over character, her poignancy contrasted with standoffish tact, and an endless elegance that never allows the character to be seen as an archetype, are all the qualities that make Schygulla stand far above the rest of the cast. Despite being a late arrival, she steals the film entirely, commanding it and breaking our hearts with her simple but truly affecting work.

When you break it down, something that The Edge of Heaven does really well is convey the underlying sense of anguish felt by these characters. The film focuses on half a dozen individuals, all of which come from different backgrounds, generations and social contexts. Yet, they’re all searching for answers in some way. The Edge of Heaven is a very unconventional mystery film, with the story being propelled mainly by the director’s attempt to answer many questions while still telling a compelling story about the human condition. This is where the film works the most, where the shifting focus alludes to a deeper understanding of character, and a more profoundly steadfast fascination with how we function, both as individuals and as a community. It is undeniable that the narrative tends to fail to adhere to some logic, particularly when it becomes clear how Akin wrote far more than what he could have feasibly included, which led to some bewildering omissions in terms of the story that tend to distract from the more interesting aspects. However, when we consider how this is a film that benefits more from the good intentions than anything else, we can forgive some of these narrative shortcomings, especially when it becomes clear how engaging a film this actually is, and how Akin tells a story that is filled with fascinating moments of truly humane introspection. The Edge of Heaven is a heartfelt film, one that takes advantage of a relatively simple premise by presenting us with a touching story of survival and the aftermath of trauma, which is definitely worth exploring. It’s not a major work, nor does it linger on much longer than it needs to, but it’s a solid effort from a director whose intentions in making this film were always to convey a poetic sense of humanity, which is certainly very true of this endearing film.