Parvaneh

'PARVANEH': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A 25 minute Swiss short film; which was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Live Action Short Film, at the upcoming 87th Academy Awards. The short is about an Afghan immigrant, living in Switzerland, who's desperately trying to send home money to her family; but can't due to lack of identification. She finds help from a local Swiss girl; who's nothing like her. The film was written and directed by first time filmmaker Talkhon Hamzavi and stars first time film actresses; Nissa Kashani and Cheryl Graf. I found it to be both interesting and moving (as well).

The movie is set in the Swiss alps; at a transit centre, for refugees seeking asylum. Parvaneh (Kashani) is a young girl, that's just arrived there, from Afghanistan. She first looks for work, and then attempts to send money home (to her family) but can't; because she doesn't have the proper ID. She meets a girl on the streets (Graf), who agrees to help her, and the two form an unlikely friendship.

The film is a pretty involving character study; at first I didn't think I'd find it that interesting, but by the end of the short I was quite moved. The acting is all more than decent and Hamzavi does a great job of bringing the story and characters to life. Like I said, at first I thought it seemed like many other movies, and short films, I've already seen; dealing with similar subject matter, but this one plays out just a little differently. It's emotional and entertaining; a short that's definitely worth the time to watch.

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After its end, the performance of Nissa Kashani remains like a flavor. A film about immigrant condition and about loneliness and friendship. Simple, touching, precise. Using, in inspired manner, familiar themes. Proposing a clear portrait of refugee condition. And giving not exactly a story but a state of soul, like jazz . So, just touching.

Parvaneh (Nissa Kashani) is a young Afghan woman, working in Switzerland and gaining much-needed money for her family. She wants to wire money to her home country, but her minor status and invalid ID serve as a roadblock for her. She meets an eighteen-year-old teen girl named Emily (Cheryl Graf), who will kindly wire the money for her in addition to offering her momentary companionship until she has to return to her homeland.

Talkhon Hamzavi's Parvaneh is so simple and built on this minimalist relationship that, at twenty-five minutes long, is just asking to be underdeveloped and half-baked. Rather than making the teen girls act like ordinary teen girls, with a lot on their minds and little time to get it all out, Hamzavi casts the short in such a minimalistic light that little gets revealed about the private lives of these girls, and, in turn, there's not a great deal of development or connection that can be formed to these two fairly empty individuals. On a side-note, however, Kashani and Graf strike up a solid chemistry, leading to believe had Parvaneh been extended to a feature-length film that we would've gotten a deeper, more impacting relationship out of them than the stunted one we have here. Even when the short tries to be gritty and a bit seedy, having the two girls go to a club late one night with Parvaneh nearly being publicly molested, it's too little and ends in a predictable manner, with few repercussions and little impact whatsoever.

Starring: Nissa Kashani and Cheryl Graf.

"Parvaneh" is the film I think is most likely to take home the Oscar. It's a very good film and the subject matter seems like the sort of thing that is pure Oscar-bait. It is the story about a young Afghani refugee living in Switzerland. She is alone and like so many refugees is concerned about sending home money to her poor family. However, when she arrives in the city and tries to wire money, she finds two problems--she must be over 18 and she has no identification. So, she goes in search of someone to help her. Now I assumed as I watched that she would soon be exploited by some uncaring person and I assumed several things would happen which didn't. I appreciate how the film is not predictable much of the time. The story is about the connection this Muslim lady makes with a Swiss woman who has her own set of problems. I liked the film but didn't love it--which is the way I felt about all of the nominees this year.