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In Fiddler on the Roof, there's a line about love coming later in arranged marriages. Much is the same in this story of a marriage of convenience between a self-destructive alcoholic and a suicidal girl.
Both are Turks living in Germany; the over-aged punk-rocker Cahit (Ünel) cleans up empties at a club while the over-sexed Sibel (Kekilli) is trapped by a traditional family. He marries her to keep her from slashing her wrists and she marries him for the freedom to screw any man she wants, except for Cahit.
Cahit finds himself falling in love with Sibel, but it's not until he's sent to prison for killing one of her lovers that Sibel discovers her own feelings for him. While waiting years for his release, she returns to her native Turkey and her inability to adjust to its culture nearly gets her killed before they reunite. But not for long.
Their passions makes it nearly impossible to turn away from the film, but it suffers from a languorous pacing that makes its two-hour running time seem quite a bit longer. However, Akin (a Turk living in Germany) redeems himself with an ending that avoids the Hollywood happy trap.