Ghost Song

Press Quotes

"A tender, intelligent, beautifully-crafted supernatural love story. German-Turkish writer/director Fatih Akin's San Sebastian opener features a terrific central performance from newcomer Mariam Dawoud. Frank Griebe's widescreen camerwork brings Hamburg alive, especially in the eerie nightscapes, with some scenes pushing a strong comic-strip stylisation – indeed, the film has spawned a graphic novel. The underwater flashbacks – which presumably demanded some heavyweight commitment from Dawoud – together with the vertiginous climax, generate authentic genuine nail-biting tension."
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

"A genuine congratulations is in order for Fatih Akin, who has expeditiously found two of the most beautiful young actors in the German-speaking world and put them opposite each other as star-crossed lovers in his latest film. Ghost Song is more than just pretty people in black and white. However, they certainly contribute to a sort of fairy-tale gleam embedded within the Golden Bear-winning German filmmaker's occasionally melodramatic yet refreshingly earnest effort."
CINEUROPA

"Ghost Song takes supernatural screen romance to its breaking point. Admirable high-class scenery and pacing. Shot by cinematographer Frank Griebe in gorgeously unexpected black and white, up-fronting the film's existential themes and turning each shot into a richly layered composition. Versatile German filmmaker and producer Fatih Akin, has a gift for effortlessly integrating cultures in such a natural, modern way. If at first there are some strong echoes of the Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore relationship in the classic Ghost, by its end Ghost Song leans much more into the dark wizardry of Japanese anime and manga. It's the kind of film that speaks directly to younger audiences and that should auger the film well."
THE FILM VERDICT

"A movie about grief, guilt, faith, but also about hope and forgiveness. This heartwarming movie is guaranteed to touch you. Sparse special effects add a touch of lyricism to the story. Richard Borowski's work also deserves praise – the sound engineer has previously worked on many of Akin's movies, including Golden Bear winner Head-On, in 2004. The magic warble of Natacha Atlas and Googoosh seem to be present in the soundtrack."
DMOVIES

"Fatih Akin opens San Sebastián with a ghostly miniature as delicate as it is overwhelmingly poetic. The Turkish-German director reimagines ghost cinema in a fable that, in its own way, is a successor to Wings of Desire." Let's say that the entire film takes the right side in a deliberate effort to bring together – in a single moment of love – religions, beliefs, politics, and pasts."
EL MUNDO

"We all know how tender even the wildest films by Fatih Akin can be. Now we're amazed at just how wild even his most tender film to date is. Mariam Dawoud is wonderfully enigmatic and inscrutable and Eren M. Güvercin is non of the rugged types we've seen so far in Short and Painless, Head-On, The Golden Glove, or Rheingold – but someone like Timothée Chalamet, very delicate and without a hint of toxic masculinity. While Ghost Song draws its appeal and tension from the interplay between the burden of life and the weightlessness of love. In its best and most haunting moments, this beautiful, solemn, sad and wistful film lets you feel what it means to be alive."
THE SPOT MEDIA & FILM

"Frank Griebe's black-and-white cinematography provides an immediate visual identity and transforms Hamburg into a space suspended between reality and dream. There are images of remarkable beauty, especially in the moments when the city takes on an almost ghostly dimension."
CALIGARI