by Julian Wood
Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Setareh Maleki
Intro:
… a clever balance of domestic realism and national commentary that translates well to Western audiences.
Art movie buffs have, long since, taken for granted the idea that Iranian films are an important facet of world cinema. There is something so subtle and thought provoking about their best films. This epic domestic and political thriller from Mohammed Rasoulof is certainly no exception. From its rapturous reception at last year’s Sydney Film Festival, its acclaimed screenings at Cannes 2024 and an Oscar nomination for Best International Film, the film has already garnered plenty of critical praise.
For the reasons indicated above, film buffs will need no prompting to go and see it. This, even though it is in Farsi with subtitles and goes for just under three hours.
Mohammad Rasoulof’s film is a clever balance of domestic realism and national commentary that translates well to Western audiences. It does help if you have a passing knowledge of recent events in Iran, especially the death in custody at the hands of the so-called morality police of a young woman called Mahsa Amini after she was detained for not covering her hair ‘correctly’. This sparked a wave of street protests, mostly by young women who were able to use their phones and social media to mobilise and momentarily outwit the repressive authorities. Iran’s population has a very young skew and there is no doubt that the younger generation will take up the fight against the male-dominated theocracy going forward.
Rasoulof (who himself was threatened with caning and jail time and who fled to France) very much takes the side of the rebels here. However, he cleverly centres it on a particular family to show the gender and generational tensions close up.
The head of the family is Iman (Missagh Zareh), a middle-aged lawyer who is about to be promoted to being a judge. He cannot afford any hint of scandal if he is to be confirmed. He is therefore more than potentially compromised when his daughters start to get drawn into the street movement and protests. The youngest, Sana (a lively performance from Setareh Maleki) is the one who pushes the boundaries the most. In defying both her father and the state she brings risk to her whole family.
Rasoulof shows all the contradictions in a nuanced way and allows for each characters’ motivations without judgment. Iman is ‘unlucky’, in one sense, that things have boiled over just as he is about to get his reward for keeping his head down and serving the law. On the other hand, he is also culpable, both for his implicit compliance to a repressive regime and as a man who relies on unquestioned male authority. As the contradictions tighten, there is no path he can take which does not at one level mean pain, or, at the very least, a violent disruption of the family’s world.
The film plays well with its thriller elements and there are many tense scenes. It is also innovative in capturing the fluid and volatile street protests with hand-held style camera work and an interesting soundscape.
The end of the film is perhaps drawn out and it all strays into slightly jarring action sequences with elements of melodrama. This is terrain that the director is less sure-footed about. It does not entirely undo the good work of the rest of the film though.
This is a film that would no doubt cause huge debate in Iran, but it is universal enough to hold and challenge Australian audiences as well.
