Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Head On Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 6, 2014

Winner of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Awards at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, Ana Kokkinos' "Head On" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; filmed discussion with director Ana Kokkinos, actors Alex Dimitriades and Tony Nikolakopoulos, actress Elena Mandalis, and writers Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson; gallery of production stills; archival footage from the film's theatrical premiere at the Athens International Film Festival; and music video. Region-Free.

Ari

The main protagonist (Alex Dimitriades, La spagnola) in Australian director Ana Kokkinos’ Head On is a 19-year-old man who comes from a Greek family residing somewhere on the outskirts of Melbourne. His name is Ari, he is unemployed and perpetually angry.

Initially Ari dreams of a better life, but not the type of 'good' life his parents want him to have -- he does not want to have a dead-end job, he does not want to marry a Greek girl, and he does not want to be a lousy Greek father. In fact, Ari does not even want to be Greek. He just wants to be free -- free to make his own mistakes in life and learn from them, free to fall in love without being told when, free to be Ari.

But the more Ari tries to live his life as he wishes, the more complicated his relationship with his parents becomes. Eventually, he snaps and begins experimenting with hard drugs, gay sex, and pain. Then he quickly reaches the bottom and comes to the conclusion that he was born to suffer.

Based on Christos Tsiolkas' novel Loaded, Kokkinos’ second feature, Head On, is the type of film that cannot be produced in America. It is very honest, very rough, and it has the type of attitude that is guaranteed to offend all sorts of prominent moralistic watchdogs.

Head On has a lot in common with Fatih Akin’s Gegen die Wand (whose alternative English title is also Head-On). In Akin’s film, a young Turkish woman meets a Turkish man and asks him to marry her so that she can escape her very conservative family. They live in Germany, a country with a very large Turkish immigrant community, and don’t think of themselves as Turks. But their relatives insist that they are Turks, which means that they have to respect all sorts of different restrictive rules. The woman and the man marry, but immediately after the wedding their lives spin out of control. In 2004, this powerful and very polarizing film became the first German film in 17 years to win the prestigious Golden Bear Award at the Berlinale. (The young woman in Akin’s film is played by former adult star Sibel Kekili, whose real life story can easily be used to shoot another equally intense film).

The different dilemmas Ari faces in Kokkinos’ film are very similar to the ones the young woman in Akin’s film does -- he wants to distance himself from his conservative family, but he can’t do it because there are no career opportunities that can transform his life; he also wants to freely express himself, without fearing the Greek community’s approval, but outside of the Greek community he is an even bigger and more attractive target for brutal cops, homophobes, and ethnic goons. So, he becomes a reckless rebel, convinced that his most effective form of protest is self-destruction.

Because Ari struggles with his sexuality and there are all sorts of different cliches that are attached to it which he dismisses, many critics have felt comfortable referring to Head On as 'gay film'. It is not. The sexual acts are just a small segment of Ari’s protest; it is not the pleasure or pain that he is attracted to but the momentary feeling that he is free to suddenly redirect and even risk his life without being judged.

Dimitriades is sensational. There are numerous scenes that easily could have collapsed the film had it not been for his fearless performance. Australian singer Paul Capsis is also enormously impressive as the transvestite Johnny/Toula.

Head On is beautifully lensed by cinematographer Jaems Grant (Only the Brave, Strange Fits of Passion). The use of light and shades during the risky scenes is particularly effective.

The film has a terrific soundtrack blending traditional Greek music and top tracks by Death in Vegas (“Opium Shuffle”), Way Out West (“Ajare/Brothers in Rhythm Club Mix”), Underground Lovers (“Las Vegas”), Silverchair (“Freak”), and Primal Scream (“Loaded”), amongst others.

Head On Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ana Kokkinos' Head On arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source, most likely a master that was prepared for the film's local R4 DVD release a few years ago. Unsurprisingly, there are some clarity and sharpness fluctuations. Definition can also fluctuate, but in addition to the obvious source limitations there are also some inherited fluctuations (see the card game). Colors are stable, but saturation can be better. On a positive side, there are no traces of digital color boosting. Also, there are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. Traces of filtering corrections are present, but it is clear to me that they are also present on the source used to produce the high-definition transfer. In other words, no additional work has been done on the high-definition transfer. Finally, there are a few rather large damage marks and scratches that pop up here and there. Overall image stability, however, is good. All in all, there is clearly room for important improvements, but my guess is that currently there are no suitable master in existence to produce a stronger Blu-ray release. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Head On Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. There are small portions of Greek as well. When Greek is spoken, there are printed English subtitles (as intended). For the record, Umbrella Entertainment have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film has a very elaborate soundtrack which benefits tremendously from the lossless treatment. Dynamic intensity is rather limited, but there is a good range of nuanced dynamics that enhance various very important sequences. The dialog is crisp, stable, and clean. Also, there are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts or distortions.

Head On Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Head On - Six Years On - in this video piece, director Ana Kokkinos, actors Alex Dimitriades and Tony Nikolakopoulos, actress Elena Mandalis, and writers Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson, discuss the unique qualities of Head On. Filmed at Palace Films Head Office in Melbourne on Tuesday, December 7, 2004. In English, not subtitled. (41 min).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Head On. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Photo Gallery - a gallery of production stills. (3 min).

• Head On in Athens - archival footage from the film's theatrical premiere at the Athens International Film Festival. In Greek, with imposed English subtitles. (9 min).

• Paul Capsis Music Video - an absolutely fantastic live performance by Paul Capsis (Johnny/Toula). (7 min).

Head On Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ana Kokkinos' second feature, Head On, is a minor Australian masterpiece. Its intensity could intimidate some viewers, but those who like strong films with an attitude should not miss it. I would also like to recommend the book that inspired it, Christos Tsiolkas' novel Loaded, whose style is equally impressive. Head On can look better in high-definition, but I consider Umbrella Entertainment's Blu-ray release decent enough to recommend.