Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul

Aroview: Turkish dir. Fatih Akin unveils Istanbul’s rich and uninhabited music scene, listening in on the capital’s many sonic threads: a soundscape ranging wildly from jazz, to hip-hop, to pop, to experimental rock.

More than a music surveyor, Akin also moonlights as a parochial city-logger, capturing the cultural fertility, diversity, and crossroad geography of his beloved Istanbul. Fronted by musician and HEAD-ON scorist Alexander Hacke (of experimental band Einstuerzende Neubauten), this skirts regional politics perhaps a little too cowardly, but makes good through its emphasis on enthralling live performance.