Tatami

We are in the Olympic year and season, and 'Tatami' (2023) directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv is the right movie for this season. It can be said that the (Olympic) spirit of sport and the relationship between sport and politics is at the heart of this film. It is a film by and about sports and it is also a political thriller, but above all it is a film about courage. The courage of women who fight to win what for their contemporaries in other countries is something natural - the freedom to be who they are and to live as they want, to compete in sports outside any political constraints and discrimination of any kind and to win when they are the best. I took the risk of missing part of the opening festivities of the Olympics to watch the film and I did not regret the decision, because 'Tatami' fascinated me and kept me nailed in my seat from the first to the last minute of viewing.

Leila Hosseini is an Iranian judoka competing for her country at the World Championships in Tbilisi. Maryam is her coach, a former performance judoka who almost won a medal at the Olympics but had to drop out of the competition to avoid facing an athlete from Israel. The same thing is happening to Leila now. She's in great shape and moving up through the competition, but so is an Israeli opponent with whom Leila has a friendly rivalry. As the chances of the two women meeting in the final stages of the competition increase, history seems to be repeating itself. Iran's Judo Association and the politicians behind it are asking the athlete and her coach to fake a medical problem in order to drop out of the competition. Leila refuses, despite the fact that her family (who supports her) is under threat back home in Iran. Maryam hesitates. If Leila continues, there is no turning back, she will be forced to take the road of exile.

Sports sequences and scenes in the locker and training rooms of the competition alternate at a fast pace. We watch the fights on the tatami and we admire the huge physical and concentration efforts that the athletes have to invest in order to reach the top. At the same time, political and personal drama develop. For Zar Amir Ebrahimi this is a first feature film that she is directing, together with the Israeli Guy Nattiv. She also plays the role of Maryam, and together with Arienne Mandi, who plays the role of Leila, creates two memorable portraits of brave and dignified women who face a dictatorial regime in their desire to represent their country in the competition with dignity and sportsmanship. Chosing exile is an extremely difficult decision and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who had to make it herself years ago, knows the dilemmas very well. In addition to well-known Iranian filmmakers who create in their country under conditions that are sometimes very difficult, Iranian cinema in exile manages, through international co-productions like this one, to offer another facet of Iranian film art. 'Tatami' is an excellent political and psychological thriller and a wonderful film about courage and dignity.

I recommend viewers after the film to go to Wikipedia and read about the reality of the real life of the actress who wonderfully portrays the coach Amir Zar Ebrahimi, and also co-director with Guy Nativ in this film. It can be said that the judoka in the film tells the story of her own experiences after she was forced to flee Iran at the last minute to France, after the authorities wanted to imprison her for 6 years, 99 lashes, and a ban on working as an actress in the country, because of her alleged sex tape that was leaked to the net. The film accurately depicts reality The insanity of a country, which also pushes its sports into a corner through mental and physical pressure, as happened to the athlete who dared to compete without a head covering and "disappeared". The film is a message to the degenerate and hypocritical world of who Iran is since the Islamic revolution, what is the fate of women in the country and how at the end of the day They look to the side and do not help the women there.

When I started watching Tatami, I thought I knew what to expect. It felt like it might be a documentary, straightforward and predictable. But soon, the film surprised me, and its tone shifted to something intense and powerful. I quickly felt the characters' restrictions, especially how trapped the main character, Leila, was. The square aspect ratio-which I found odd at first-ended up being the perfect choice. It made the story feel tight and confined, letting me feel every bit of tension. I started noticing every shot and angle, each one adding to the atmosphere.

The movie gave me a new perspective on the struggles these athletes face. It's sad to think about, and it's even sadder to know that, whether it's just as we see in the film or what we sometimes see on the news, people actually live like this. It's heartbreaking how communities can be torn apart by politics and control. The film touched me deeply, exposing the sickness of a system that can manipulate and break people for its own ends.

It's a shame Tatami hasn't gotten more attention. With its unique style and powerful story, it deserves to be seen by more people. It isn't just a movie; it's a look into the lives of people whose stories often go unheard.

This is determination: you're competing in the World Judo Championships. You go to the weigh-in and find you're .3 kg over. Leila Hosseini (Arienne Mandi), the Iranian national champion, has 20 minutes to lose the extra weight. By pedaling furiously on a stationary bike, she manages that, plus a few additional ounces. The National Team's coach, Ms. Maryam Ghanbari (Zar Amir), has been in Leila's corner for years, pushing her successfully onward, and looks on proudly.

At the start of the third match, the Iranian Judo Association phones Ghanbari and orders her to have Hosseini throw her next fight. The political implications that she might possibly face the Israeli opponent, her friend, and lose to her in the finals, would disgrace Iran and the Supreme Leader won't stand for that.

Hosseini stands her ground. She's adamant that she deserves to win a gold medal, for herself, her family and her country. Yet she fears disobeying because it will certainly endanger her entire family.

Ghanbari has personally been down this road before, having her life controlled by the Islamic government. She's wound tightly, always touching her hijab, nervously checking to make sure not a single stray hair protrudes. The Supreme Leader of Iran goes so far as having Ghanbari's mother call to insist she tell Hosseini throw the match. This is what living under an oppressive regime means - total control.

Tatami is more than a movie about judo - it's a complex political thriller about facing down an insidious, oppressive government and saying 'no more'. Fighting for your life. Finding support when it's most needed, from like-minded individuals. The photography and lighting are used evocatively. Shot in black and white, the camera gets right into the faces, hands and feet of the combatants. The purposely ironic scripting of the commentator's observations mirrors the life-defining choices made by Hosseini.

The first feature film co-directed by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, and an official selection of several international film festivals, Tatami is showing in select theaters.

What makes 'Tatami' so captivating? It is an efficient thriller and intimately connects us with the main character.

A THRILLER SHOT LIKE A TRAGEDY

The movie follows the rules of classic tragedy:

• Unity of time: all actions occur in less than 24 hours, except the epilogue a year later and the flashbacks of course;
• Unity of space: the plot is mainly located in the Dojo of the World Championships. When we see the family in Iran, they are interacting by phone with Leila on site, with very few exceptions;
• Unity of action: the two stories, namely the competition and pressure from the regime, are closely intertwined.

The use of black and white increases the sense of classical format and tragedy, the former being enhanced by the "old" aspect ratio of 1.33 to 1, which is closer to a square than the more common 1.85 or 2.40. Overall it looks more like a film noir than a sports feature.

The action follows a downward slope where characters are increasingly threatened and unable to avoid their fate, as in a nightmare. The happy end is only relative: granted, Maryam, Leila and her son eventually live in France, yet we don't know what happened to Leila's husband and parents, as well as Maryam's mother. In the penultimate scene, both women are in a bus as they were in the first scene, a gripping loop since it seems nothing has changed whilst everything has. They look at each other and only vaguely smile: a bittersweet ending.

To increase the dramatic atmosphere, the movie deliberately aims for efficiency rather than accuracy as it takes many liberties with Judo standards. As such, it is not a film about Judo: sport is a background to the thriller.-

• The World Judo Association (WJA) does not exist, it is the International Judo Federation (IJF). Senior officials would not get involved so directly and at such short notice.-
• No Judo World Championships were ever staged in Tbilisi, where the film was shot: the actual environment (Dojo and streets of the city) is more important than historical accuracy.-
• The IJF does not allow wearing a hijab (headscarf) on the tatami for safety reasons, contrarily to some national or regional organisations; wearing a bonnet has occasionally been tolerated. This is bypassed by the movie in order to illustrate the clothing norms imposed to Iranian women: it provides a general dimension to the specific plot.-
• The rhythm of the competition is on the fast side. The World Championships are indeed held in one day for each weight category, with a maximum of 6 combats from round of 64 to the final. However they spread over hours to allow Judokas to recover from the effort and potential wounds, whilst the movie action almost seems to be in real time.-
• The fights are purposefully dramatized. Some techniques are practically unseen at this level, for instance Tomoe Nage for those who know Judo (the "attacker" falls on her back and projects the opponent over her), which a world-class Judoka could easily counter.-
• The Iranian federation and pundits react much too quickly to Leila's success: they intervene at the beginning of the competition, whilst it is absolutely not certain she will face the Israeli Judoka in the final. Actually related instructions would have been given ahead of the competition, but this would not have enabled the dramatic build-up.

AN INTIMATE CONNECTION

Most of all, we intimately share the main character's experience.-

• The image is generally dark with many shadows, echoing the feelings of the two main characters. The backgrounds are especially sombre, illustrating the looming threats.-
• Most of the action occurs inside and when it does not, exterior scenes are obscure: the overall sensation is claustrophobic and oppressive.-
• The above-mentioned narrow format of 1.33 increases this feeling of confinement.-
• The grain of the film is rather thick, as opposed to the usual smooth texture nowadays. It is as if we were touching the rugged Judogi uniform (improperly called "kimono") worn by the athletes, feeling the dense atmosphere, smelling the sweaty environment.-
• The fights are frequently shown close or very close, with fast camera movements and quick editing: we are on the tatami with Leila.-
• There are subjective shots where we see through Leila's eyes, for instance when her vision is blurred in the last combat.-
• All flashbacks are related to Leila: we visualise them with her. Some are intimate: a nude scene in bed with her husband, a sweet scene with her son in his bed. We follow her train of thoughts: the photograph flashes before a round evoke a powerful scene where she dances with her husband, among stroboscopic lights in a clandestine club (since her hair is loose).-

The movie depicts the emancipation of Leila who refuses to submit herself, symbolically removes her hijab in the last round and defects. Interestingly, she becomes an example for Maryam who, after complying, supports her, confesses to unduly forfeiting the 1988 Olympics and also defects: a reversed situation since Maryam has always been a model for Leila.

The plot is not strictly based on real facts: it is a compilation and dramatization of existing incidents. According to the diaspora site 'Radio Farda', the directors mentioned the following references:

• Saeid Mollaei, an Iranian male Judoka who was ordered to lose during the 2019 World Championships to avoid facing an Israeli in the final;
• Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian female climber who appeared without hijab during the 2022 Asian Championships;
• Kimia Alizadeh, an Iranian female taekwondo athlete, who defected in 2020.

These events are condensed in the story of Leila. For memo the boycott of Israeli athletes is not specific to Iran or Judo; in Judo alone there were recently e.g. Fethi Nourine (Algerian) and Mohamed Abdalarasool (Sudanese) during the 2021 Olympics, as well as Messaoud Driss (Algerian) during the 2024 Olympics. Leila's exile also echoes co-director Zar Amir Ebrahimi's who plays the role of the coach Maryam and who was forced to leave Iran in 2008.

In summary, 'Tatami' is a compelling thriller with political, ethical and personal insights. It appropriately embodies the present repression by the Iranian regime of all its citizens, notably women. Ironically this oppression is not even efficient: the Israeli Judoka who could have faced Leila in the final eventually loses in semi-final. Hence if Leila had not been stressed by threats, she would have been more focused, could have passed the quarter-final stage, have won a medal for Iran and would not have defected. Note the final twist: in the ultimate scene, Leila as part of the Refugees Team faces an Iranian Judoka. Repression has turned against itself.