Essay Questions

What is the meaning of the title, Head-On?

The films title has to do directly with Cahit's head on collision while driving his car into a concrete wall in an attempt to kill himself. This collision brings him head-on with Sibel who threatens to kill herself if he doesn't marry her. He does so, and this in turn hits him full-on with the pain of losing his wife and the fact that there is still love inside of him that he finds connecting for Sibel; a woman that won't allow him to have her. The story of Cahit and Sibel is also about their head-on collisions with their pain, their belief systems and clashes with the cultures they were raised in.

What is the significance of Cahit tearing off the filter from his cigarette while speaking with the psychologist?

Cahit rips of the filter with his teeth and spits it out and begins to smoke. This is a symbol of his need to feel something. He has lost the love of his life, and he has become numb to feeling anything, and the only thing that he can do is allow the sting of a cigarette, alcohol and sex to disrupt this pain for moments during his day. It also speaks to his desire to no longer be on the earth. Without a filter their is the chance he will get cancer sooner, this shows his hatred towards himself.

Why does Sibel smile the morning after committing adultery?

Sibel's dream is to break free from her parents and the Muslim and Turkish customs she is expected to keep. She believes that sleeping with every man she wants to is what the dream life will include. Thus when she is kicked out by Cahit on their wedding night she goes home with a bartender and the next morning she believes she is living her dream life, when in reality she can't see one millimeter in front of her to the wedding dress she wears and the meaning of marriage. Everything she does at this point in her life is about her, her feeling what she desires regardless of what it does to anyone else.