Chaharshanbe-soori

This film by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, About Elly) is well made, though in my opinion he has done better. There are elements in this movie you see in other films of the director: heated marital discussions, secrets and lies coming to the light, cultural differences between the middle class and the working class. However, the end result is not as compelling as in other of his movies.

The action transpires on a single day in Tehran during the celebration of the Iranian new year (a holiday where a lot of fireworks are thrown). The young Rouhi (played by the pretty and talented Taraneeh Alidosti, who was in About Elly), is a working class woman that will soon marry her boyfriend. She gets a temporary job cleaning a apartment in a middle class neighborhood. Upon arriving at the apartment she finds herself in the middle of a heated domestic dispute between Mojdeh and Morteza. Mojdeh (Heyde Tehrani, who's great) suspects that her husband Morteza is cheating on her with the next door neighbor Simin, a woman who set up a beauty salon there after her own marriage broke up. Over the course of the day, Rouhi, the fighting couple, their small son, the wife's sister and husband, and the beautician engage in a series of exchanges and confrontations, as the truth unfolds.

Of course, the central conceit of the film, that the residents of the apartment complex would trust this cleaning lady they barely know so much they would confide to her all their problems, is absurd. At one point, Mojdeh even asks Rouhi to pick her young son at school (she has only known her for a few hours, and already trusts her to fetch her son, whom Rouhi has never met!)

Not knowing much about Iranian culture, I was intrigued by the relationship between Rouhi and her boyfriend. I suppose Iran being a culturally conservative country their relationship before marriage is non sexual, yet they seem so close and loving, especially at the opening scenes of the movie. But the movie doesn't dwell too much in this, a pity since you don't see much about young love in Iranian movies.

Chaharshanbeh Soori is a beautiful movie, directed with so much subtlety and refinement, bringing the best of the actors out of them. The superb narratives and very good filming are topped with great story telling, making it a must-see and a fresh blood in the Iranian cinema.

The complication of human behavior and psyche as well as the flow of the events, thoughts, and emotions, remind one of Milan Kundera's novels.

The character development is really flawless, and I have never seen Hedyeh Tehrani in a better and more touching scene than the one where she is in the bathroom with her sister in Fireworks Wednesday.

Great job and congratulations to Asghar Farhadi and Mani Haghighi.

... on any day of the week and, in fairness, a story of a marriage falling apart that could be played out in just about any setting around the world, as a recently hired apartment cleaner finds herself embroiled between a husband and mistrusting spouse, who may or may not be reading more into her errant partners behaviour, but is determined to find out one way or another regardless. Sparkling performances all round.

A really engaging early film from Farhadi. Many of the themes he's become known for of course make an appearance here, namely those of family, mistrust, home, neighbours, honour, divorce, children trapped between fighting parents, modernity v tradition, rich and liberal v modest and conservative. Unlike the Salesman (2016) though and the Past (2013) there is a fair bit of humour here though mainly coming from our sweet natured cheerful protagonist and her unworldly ways. As a young working-class girl with an idealistic view of her coming marriage to her finance she finds herself in for a shock when she meets the highly strung neurotic rich lady she's to clean for. Her dysfunctional marriage becomes the centre of the plot, though we explore this world through our protagonist innocent eyes. Is the lady paranoid in her fears about her husband or is she right to worry? Fireworks and firecrackers are present throughout unnervingly snapping and exploding throughout the long tense day.

The real strength of the director is unpacking information slowly to keep the audience hocked, withholding things to keep us intrigued, every single shot in this film somehow holds your attention, he takes the mundane and packs it full of detail. The cinematography also gives it a cool, subdued look with a slightly sickly colour, very pasty but perfect for its tone. The score isn't that noticeable which is how I think a drama film like this should be. The acting is so strong you quickly forget it's happening. Another superb strength is how the characters are feel like real fleshed out people struggling with their personal troubles, their actions all feel real and never contrived, nobody is perfect as they say. I could watch this again and again. The Iranian language and culture also give it an exotic foreign touch.

Highly recommended.

Chaharshanbe-soori (2006) was shown in the U.S. with the title "Fireworks Wednesday. It was written and directed by Asghar Farhadi.

This movie really has two plots. One plot line involves a young working class woman who who will be married in a week. She starts work at the apartment of a wealthy family. Just a few minutes into the plot we realize that this is a dysfunctional family. The husband has flown into a rage and smashed a window with his fist. (He has a bandage in his hand throughout the movie.) The wife suspects that her husband is having an affair. She enlists the young maid to spy for her.

The relationship between the wife and the husband is the second plot line. Is the husband truly having an affair, or is this a neurotic obsession on the part of the wife?

(There's a third subplot about a man who parks his car just outside the gates of the apartment. He appears friendly enough, but I could never figure out what he was doing there. Probably everyone who saw the movie in Iran understood perfectly well what was happening. I couldn't get it. Even so, two solid plots are plenty for one movie.)

The reason the movie is called "Fireworks Wednesday" is because it's the Persian New Year, and everyone is shooting off fireworks. Fireworks are everywhere. I've never been to a movie--including war movies--with so many explosions in it. After a while, your brain partly shuts out the sound, but it's always there.

This is a powerful, dramatic, well-acted film. Although it's a drama, there are many funny moments. For example, the young outside worker and the older woman who works as concierge bond immediately. They'll never be in the upper class, but that doesn't mean they can't laugh at the weird rich people for whom they work.

The two female leads in the movie are extraordinarily talented. Hedye Tehrani plays the wife & Taraneh Alidoosti plays the domestic worker.

We saw this movie at home on the small screen, and it worked very well. It has a very high IMDb rating of 7.8, so I'm not alone in my admiration of it.

If you like unusual, interesting foreign films, with great direction and great acting, find this movie and enjoy it!