Response to the Edge of Heaven

The thing I found most interesting about this film is the relationships between parents and their children. When Ali said that he had to raise Nejat alone and that Yeter sent all of her money t her daughter to be used for education, I was very touched. Perhaps I find human relationships fascinating. Some films really explore these ideas well. This film reminded me of Spanglish in a sense. It involves people who are raise in different cultures and must struggle to balance their world with their parent's world. I am not a parent so I do can not completely understand the depth of a mother's or father's love for their children, but from this film, I was exposed to such passionate ideas of love. It was a sad momement when Nejat said that he does not associate with murderers when referring to his father. Although it is justifiable on his part to have some resentment towards his father for committing such a horrible sin. Although Nejat's statement was very strong and a bit heartless, he eventually forgives his father at the end of the movie. I notice an interesting trend with forgiveness in this movie. Susanne disapproved of Lotte being with Ayten. She did not want her daugher to leave and go to Turkey. Susanne went as far as cutting Lotte off financially. However, eventually Susanne's motherly instincts kicks in and she became very worried about her daughter. In her quest to discovering Lotte's whereabouts, she is hit with the terrrible news that Lotte had died. This was a tragic moment, but it helped Susanne realized that she made a mistake by not supporting her daughter. She was able to forgive both her daugher and Ayten. Forgiveness was a powerful theme in this movie and I believe that it relates very well to the Turkish and German experience. There have been many conflicts, wars, discrimination that occured in Germany, but people have always been able to move past these things beacuse of forgiveness. It is not an easy aspect of progress, but it can make quite an impact.