Mehmet Kurtulus Movies
An elusive hit-man whose targets never see him coming and who always manages to disappear without a trace is forced to risk it all after falling for a mysterious woman in director Mennan Yapo's dark crime thriller. Viktor (Jaochim Król) is a stealthy killing machine with a reputation for consummate professionalism. A chance meeting with a beautiful blonde (Nadja Uhl), however, buts more than Viktor's career at stake when the police lock onto the trail of the killer and the only way to escape the long arm of the law is to execute the most daring plan imaginable. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joachim Krol, Nadja Uhl, (more)
German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin writes and directs the drama Gegen die Wand (Head-On). Set in a working-class Hamburg neighborhood, the story follows two Turkish immigrants who get together in a marriage of convenience. Cahit Tomruk (Birol Ünel) is a heavy drinker and a fighter who crashes his car into a wall. While visiting his psychiatrist, Dr. Schiller (Hermann Lause), he meets fellow patient Sibel Guner (Sibel Kekilli). She's desperate to get away from her restrictive family, so she asks Cahit to marry her. Wanting to change his life anyway, Cahit agrees to the arrangement. After their wedding, Sibel celebrates her freedom by drinking, dancing, and having one-night stands. Meanwhile, Cahit carries on an intimate relationship with hair stylist Maren (Catrin Striebeck). Eventually, Cahit and Sibel learn to care for one another after a climactic trip to Istanbul. Head-On won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, (more)
A man who dares to feel finds his life in danger in this cautionary science fiction drama. In the future, after a Third World War has decimated much of the Earth's population, a new nation known as Libria rises up under the unquestioned leadership of Dupont (Angus MacFadyen). Believing human emotions and their expression were to blame for the failings of past societies, The Father has decreed that all citizens must take a daily dose of Prozia II, a drug which levels out the emotional landscape, and that all forms of creative expression are against the law; violating either regulation can be punished by death. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer who tracks down and punishes "sense offenders." One day, Preston accidentally fails to take his Prozia II, and for the first time begins experiencing emotions himself. Preston becomes aware of an underground of rebels who refuse to take their medication and have embraced art and literature, and he finds himself becoming infatuated with one of their number, Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson). Equilibrium is the second feature-length directorial effort from Kurt Wimmer, whose screenwriting credits include The Thomas Crown Affair and Sphere. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Emily Watson, (more)
- 2002
Three couples with varying degrees of success in both financial and romantic matters find they know relatively little about themselves or their respective partners in director Doris Dorrie's 2002 film Naked. Successful stockbroker Dylan (Mehmet Kurtulus) and his gorgeous wife, Charlotte (Nina Hoss), host a dinner party at their lavish apartment for two other pairs of friends, the recently separated Felix (Benno Furmann) and Emilia (Heike Makatsch) and the seemingly happy Boris (Juergen Vogel) and Annette (Alexandra Maria Lara). Felix and Emilia had decided to attend the dinner as a couple, though each still has unresolved feelings towards the other. Meanwhile, Annette and Boris are on the verge of becoming engaged, though something seems to be preventing this from happening. As the night goes on, several topics are discussed -- ranging from happy memories from the past to sexual relationships. At the height of the sex conversation, an impromptu bet is made that the two intact couples would not be able to identify their respective lovers by touching their naked bodies while blindfolded. Taking the bet, Boris, Annette, Dylan, and Charlotte strip down and discover more about themselves and each other than they ever intended. Based on the play Happy also written by Dorrie, Naked was selected as a competing film at the 2002 Venice Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heike Makatsch, Benno Fürmann, (more)
The true story of Hasso Herschel inspired this epic Cold War drama from Germany. Harry Melchoir (Heino Ferch) was a respected German athlete when the Berlin Wall forcibly divided the nation in 1961. Unwilling to cooperate with the East German authorities, Melchoir escaped to West Berlin, along with his friends Matthis (Sebastian Koch), Vic (Mehmet Kurtulus), and Fred (Felix Eitner). When he fled to West Germany, Melchoir was forced to leave his family behind, and he fears for the fate of his sister Lotte (Alexandra Maria Lara). Eager to free Lotte from East German rule, Melchoir strikes upon the idea of building a tunnel under the wall that will allow her to leave the country undetected; Melchoir recruits Matthis, Vic, and Fred to help him, along with a resourceful woman named Fritzi (Nicolette Krebitz). It isn't long before Melchoir and his compatriots discover that many others want to help their friends and family escape the East German regime, and the simple tunnel turns into a massive building and engineering project that's both ambitious and fraught with danger for all parties concerned. Der Tunnel was produced as a two-part miniseries for German television; an edited feature-length version was prepared for possible theatrical release outside Europe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, (more)
A man who has never been lucky in love thinks his fortune may have changed, only to find his life becoming all the more complicated in this nomadic romantic comedy. Daniel (Moritz Blebitreu) is a shy schoolteacher who is often unsure around women, but when he meets Melek (Idil Under), a beautiful Turkish woman, he falls head over heels in love and agrees to meet up with her in Istanbul. However, while en route from Hamburg, Daniel spots Juli (Christiane Paul), a woman he knows, trying to hitch a ride. Daniel picks her up, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she's long carried a torch for him; when Juli discovers why Daniel is making a long trip through Central Europe, she figures this could be her last chance to win him over. Her attempts to win his affections lead to a number of arguments, reconciliations, unintended turns, and brushes with the wrong side of the law. Im Juli was written and directed by Fatih Akin, who previously won acclaim for the drama Kurz und Schmerzlos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moritz Bleibtreu, Christiane Paul, (more)
- 1998
German-born Turk Faith Akin directed this German crime drama about three friends in Hamburg. Released from prison, Turk Gabriel (Mehmet Kurtulus) is ready for a new start on life. Greek Costa (Adam Bousdoukos) goes with Gabriel's sister Ceyda (Idil Uner). Serb Bobby (Aleksandar Jovanovic) annoys his girlfriend Alice (Regula Grauwiller) by doing jobs for crazed Albanian mobster Muhamer (Ralph Herforth), so Alice turns to Gabriel for comfort. Gabriel hopes to retire to Turkey and open a seaside restaurant. When Costa also joins Muhamer's gang, Gabriel intervenes to save his friends, an action which puts his own future at risk. Shown in competition at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mehmet Kurtulus, Aleksandar Jovanovic, (more)
