When shock crashes into bewilderment, there's a 'Head-On' collision

What is sadder than a woman in a dirty wedding gown, chug-a-lugging alone at a bar?

That effective image comes about halfway through the German "Head-On," and just about everything before and after it is equally distinctive. It's a movie filled with weird behavior — a guy rolling along the ground, for instance, instead of walking — that gradually becomes explicable. Watching the movie is like watching a puzzle solved in front of your eyes. It can be off-putting because we don't understand what's going on, but, gradually, we figure it out.

Strand Releasing 'Head-On' 4 out of 5 stars Director: Fatih Akin Starring: Guven Kyrac, Cem Akin, Aysel Iscan, Demir Gokgol, Stefan Gebelhoff Run time: 123 minutes Release date: May 20, 2005 Rating: Not Rated. On the web Official movie site [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Chronically depressed Sibel and Cahit both live in Germany, and the first thing she says when they meet is, "Are you Turkish? Will you marry me?" He is, and they do, and that decision makes a crazy kind of sense when you become aware that "Head-On" is a worst-case-scenario romance. It takes place in desperate circumstances, but it is perversely hopeful because if these two can find love, then surely anyone can.

Sardonic and matter-of-factly shocking, "Head-On" draws us in because it recognizes how inexplicable, inconvenient and inescapable love is. What at first seems strange and dangerous in the film turns out to be the least strange thing in the world — the universal desire to connect. And a structure that initially seems gimmicky and confusing ultimately makes sense, too. It's not confusing, but it is confused and it should be, because "Head-On" is arranged like a relationship, progressing from curiosity and excitement to commitment and understanding.