(AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE, Fatih Akin, 2007, 122 min., German/Turkish/subtitles)

As in his previous feature, Head On, director Akin explores the sometimes-uneasy relationship between German and Turkish cultures with a complex and compelling narrative that introduces six major characters whose lives become inextricably linked. The story begins when a Turkish widower living in Bremen asks a middle-aged Turkish prostitute to be his live-in lover, but the less you know about the unpredictable developments of the plot, the better. Akin’s political, emotional, and extremely clever film is simply one of the year’s best movies.