Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of Istanbul | Review

Music lovers will appreciate Turkish flavors.

Not so long ago, the Berlin film festival gave top honors to a tale that merged suicide attempts with falling in love. Very much influenced by the filmmaker’s own Germany-born Turkish upbringing, the feature also represents a sort of cultural synthesis. Somewhere along the post production phase of what would become known as the critically acclaimed Head On, Fatih Akin choose to logically incorporate musical options from the newest EU neighbor and this documentary film is an extension of that research. Less encompassing than Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club, this doc provides a travel log explanation of the musical influence from native Turkey’s folklore to the current musical trends.

With an uneasy history, she’s Istanbul’s microcosm of religion, language and culture – but Turkey is a city that may be unified by its universal language of music. Visiting with early Turkish adopters and then innovators, the doc is very much a cross section of musical influences pointing from the four directions. Akin brings along the musical composer of his feature film – and basically Alexandre Hacke gets the equivalent of a month long traveling jam session.

Commencing with the image of a bridge as a metaphor for Turkey’s unification with the rest of the EU, but more importantly its inviting pathway to musical treasure troves for foreigners, Akin does a commendable job at demonstrating the range of sounds – from voice to unique instruments and musical styles, the more interesting characters of the doc are the instruments and not necessarily those who create the music. With hit and miss personalities – its up to the individual viewer to be moved or involved.

While Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul is an informative musical post card it clearly lacks any deep or involving connection with the subjects behind the subject matters. While the music might have personality, this remains slightly more entertaining than a DVD extra. Germans, Turks, musicians, and store owners specializing in the sale of musical instruments might enjoy this, but since it is very “audience specific” it can only be of interest to those who regularly like to plug their headphones into their sound systems and escape to other worlds.

Rating 2.5 stars