Abstract
Akin’s The Edge of Heaven (2007) lends itself to a narrative structure that differs from the three-part chapter organization the film explicitly dramatizes. Recognition of this alternative narrative transforms the subject and genre of the film significantly. Heaven becomes less concerned with the coincidences on the film’s surface that link one story line to the next, and more curious about the commonalities that connect human beings on a more conceptual level. It becomes less entangled in the tragedies of the first two chapters and more emancipated by the acts of genuine reception grounded in generous hospitality in the last half. This paper identifies the trigger for the conceptual reorganization herein proposed, the distinct characterization of each narrative half when thusly arranged, and the religious function the film assumes as a result.
Recommended Citation
Redmon, Allen H.
(2010)
"Locating Heaven: Fatih Akin’s Meditation on the Outcome of Tolerance and Hospitality,"
Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol14/iss1/6