Khook

Normally I don't really mind it when a director imitates the style of another director. If you liked the original, why complain about a copy? However, Mani Haghini's 2018 film "The Pig" is highly derivative of the Cohen Brother's satires, in a way that really makes you appreciate the craft of the brothers as filmmakers. Mani seems to have watched "The Big Lebowski" 40 times, then set out to make a self-indulgent movie about being a film director in Iran. The other filmmaker make Mani seems to have been cribbing notes from is Woody Allen, in that both men often insist on starring and directing themselves in their own movies. Much as with Allen, Mani is a wildly unattractive man, who, when writing himself into his own fictional world has decided that a number of beautiful women are obsessed with him. His former leading lady, and mistress stops an movie scene she's starring in just because he's in the audience watching it be filmed. He even picks up a young, attractive stocker, who follows him around secretly filming him. Mani seems to think he has the sexual charisma of the rock stars that adorn the tacky graphic t-shirts he wears throughout the film. Having said all this, Haghini does have some skill as a visual stylist. It's just unfortunate that for every striking image that Haghini conjures up, they get buried in all the elements of the film that aren't working, most notably the choppy editing. In the end I think this is a film that is worth skipping.

One of the other reviewers seems to think the director starred in the film as the main actor, and spells the director's name wrong the entire time. It prompted me to log in and review this film from the perspective of someone who actually knows Iranian cinema.

It's refreshing and funny in a way that few internationally notable Iranian films are. The movie is centered around Hasan, a movie director trying to adjust to a new reality as his fame declines while banned from working. Meanwhile, a serial killer is targeting notable film directors and beheading them, carving the word "pig" onto their foreheads. Hasan is an overgrown mama's boy and deals with his increasing irrelevancy poorly, finding himself wishing he could be the target of this serial killer so he can feel important again.

The film speaks volumes about the current role of social media in Iran and the impact it has had on culture. Justice, common opinion, even fact is decided by a society which now lives online and is obsessed with false idols.

There are comedic and tense moments throughout the film, and you find yourself both rooting for and against the protagonist. I would definitely recommend this film to someone just barely getting into Iranian cinema. Definitely a good film to help dip your toes in.

Iran's cinema needs more blockbusters like this. After ''A Dragon Arrives", Mani Haghighi did not disappoint and you could obviously see the evolution in his work, the Cinematography and a very vibrant and unique color palette is the most underrated thing about the movie which is amazing, the next thing is his motive to make it a good ''dark comedy'' which he could do brilliantly and it all connected.

Overall, it was very enjoyable.

Khook (Pig) is not your typical serial killer thriller-it's a wickedly strange, delightfully absurd commentary on fame, censorship, and the fragile ego of the modern artist. Mani Haghighi crafts a genre-bending fable that dances between dark comedy, psychological drama, and political satire, all against the backdrop of contemporary Iranian cinema.

At the center of the madness is Hasan-a once-renowned filmmaker now banned from making movies-who watches helplessly as someone begins decapitating Iran's top directors... and not including him on the list. The insult is unbearable. The narcissism? Delicious.

Hasan Majuni is phenomenal in the lead role. His performance is both tragic and hilarious-a man so consumed with his own relevance that he can't decide whether he's relieved or offended to be spared by the killer. He's every aging artist caught between rage and resignation, and the film turns his insecurity into a deeply human, often absurdist unraveling.

Haghighi's visual style is bold, even playful, often veering into surrealism. Neon-lit dream sequences collide with sharp social commentary. The satire is biting but never cruel-more melancholic than mocking. It's a film that embraces contradictions: it is deeply Iranian yet universally relatable, deadly serious and completely ridiculous.

Khook doesn't just skewer vanity-it roasts it over a slow flame and asks us why we're all so afraid of being forgotten.

While the script is amazing, the mighty acting of Hassan Majouni as the leading role is shining in almost every moment of the movie. And you barely see such good performance from Siamak Ansari (Hope he takes it as a compliment!) If you are familiar with post-revolution Iran's history, you may be able to relate the scenario with some infamous events.