SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Really Surprised!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I can't understand the comments about other famous musicians that are left out or how deficient the movie is to describe the cultural diversity of Istanbul...How can you include every single musical pioneer from a city that has a colossal history dating back to 7000 BC for god's sake?It's called creating a concept. Selecting a way of storytelling. Purifying the cacophony of 15 million people living in this mega city.It's a great, hearth touching documentary with "a selection" of influential musicians from many different genres accompanied by mostly melancholic views of Istanbul's urban texture.Highly recommended even if you don't have an interest in world music.

Faith Akin shows yet another side of his amazing talent. Sandwiched between his two brilliant dramas 'Head On', and 'Edge of Heaven', this is a fun, infectious documentary on the Turkish music scene – from rock and roll to traditional music and everything in between. Done with flair, filled with a tremendous sense of humor, great characters and amazing music. Even if you're not normally drawn to 'world music' it will be hard not to enjoy this sweet spirited tribute to all the wide ranging music and performers in Istanbul's multi-cultural scene. In the process we also get a peak into the soul of a great city as well.

German-born Turkish director Faith Akin captures in his film the endless variety of the different styles in music and songs in Istanbul, a city that is a bridge between East and West, a city that is uniquely located on both sides of the Bosporus, in Europe and in Asia. Kurdish dirges represented by Aynur, who performs her own brand of Kurdish gospel music, passionate and melodic. We are introduced to Romany instrumentals, to Orhan Gencebay, who has been called the Elvis of Arabesque music - sounds of music are heard everywhere in the city as Faith Akin takes us into underground clubs, to the street performers, and to recording sessions. German bassist Alexander Hacke who comes to Istanbul to play and to learn about Turkish music quotes Confucius, "To understand the place, you have to listen to the music it plays". Akin's fine documentary does just that - gives us 90 minutes of music that helps to cross the bridges. For me, watching the movie was especially interesting because I recently visited Istanbul as a part of my vacation and spent four days there. The city fascinated me by its images, colors, crowds, vibrancy and visual beauty. Now, I can add the sounds of music to the ever-changing portrait of Istanbul.

This is a movie about the music that is currently being played in Istanbul. Istanbul was the center of the two Old World superpowers, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Today, it is a megalopolis of almost 10 million. So it is to no ones surprise that a lot of music is being played in Istanbul, with a great variety of voices, styles, and influences from everywhere on the globe. It is Turkish music, of course, and I was fascinated by Turkish music ever since I bought my first record long time ago. The movie features different singers, instrumentalists and bands. Spoken comments from the musicians nicely illustrate the music being played, and the social context in modern Turkey. For my perspective, the most interesting comments were from Orhan Gencebay. Furthermore, the movies shows urban scenery mainly from Istanbul which is very pleasant to watch."Crossing the Bridge" is listed as a documentary and it includes music from minorities, e.g. Kurds and Roma. Other important topics are omitted such as Turkish jazz music, or music of the Armenians and Greeks.This movie is strongly recommended for lovers of the music and culture of Turkey, the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It may also be worthwhile for those with a keen interest in the global effects of musical styles such as Rock and Roll or Hip Hop.