Baran

One of the most beautifully done and wonderfully acted movies I have seen in a very long time, years even. A movie of the such moving unselfish love. It goes to show you that you do not to have sex or even touching or kissing to feel or show the love that these two people have for each other. Due to cultural differences they can not even touch each other. The scene in which he helps her pick up the fruit that has fallen on the ground is so touching. How their hands criss cross each other without touching. See how just the closeness of their arms and hands to each other evoke such passionate feelings and the way they dig deep into each others eyes is wonderful. What an incredible movie.

There are directors who give one or two classics and are considered immortal and than there's Majid who gives classic back to back. Well I don't have word for him.

Baran is one such film from the director who has given us Children of Heaven. The simplicity of the film and the simplicity of cinematography are exemplary. Way the beauty of Iraq is captured is amazing. Each scene is aesthetic yet poignant. With minimal dialogues and no dialogues for the girl playing the title role it is quite an experimental film. If any one has noticed the film there are only on three instances that background score comes into play and during this time you will notice that we are watching a movie and not a documentary. They cast which was mostly non-professional actors looks authentic and spontaneous. The technical aspects are simple like an achievement. And last scene when rain (Baran) starts pouring down to fill the mark created by Baran's shoes is overwhelming.

To write about the director will be like undermining his work. In one word he is brilliant.

If you have not seen it you are completely missing one genre of films.

`Don't you go letting life harden your heart . . . we can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder. We always have the choice.' ...The Dalai Lama

Baran is the latest film from the director of Children of Heaven and Color of Paradise. It has strong appeal because of the natural performances of its non-professional actors, its well-drawn characters, and its message of the transforming power of generosity. Like Kandahar, our attention is drawn to the desperate plight of the Afghan people.

Baran begins with a note about the reality of the 1.4 million refugees from Afghanistan living in Iran, a number that has probably increased substantially since September 11th. Some are of the current generation that was born in Iran and have never set foot in Afghanistan; others have recently fled from Taliban oppression and long to return home. Afghans are forbidden to hold jobs by Iranian law and must work illegally, usually in unskilled heavy labor jobs.

Shot in the style of the Italian Neo-Realists (realistic stories told against real backgrounds with sometimes non-professional casts), Baran has a tone of drabness, only occasionally interrupted with bursts of color. At a construction site in Northern Tehran, Memar (Mohammad Amir Naji) employs a large number of Afghans to work along side of Turks and Iranians. This film shows a microcosm of the blue-collar working class in today's Tehran. Many languages are spoken and the film sheds some light on the variety of ethnic groups present in Iran. In spite of some harsh treatment of workers Memar has moments of generosity and humor, and his outwardly harsh exterior seems to mask a genuine sympathy for the workers.

A 17 year old Iranian tea boy, Latif (Hossein Abedini), an Iranian Azeri, feels his job is threatened by a new worker Rahmat (Zahra Bahrami) who comes to work when his father is injured on the job. Rahmat has difficulty performing construction tasks and is moved to the kitchen to prepare and serve the tea, essentially switching jobs with Latif. Latif, short tempered to begin with, now takes out after Rahmat, intent on getting revenge, leading to a series of slapstick encounters that are almost Chaplinesque in tone.

After Latif discovers Rahmat's secret (he is a she named "Baran"), the film is devoted to his transformation from a selfish wise guy to a caring and surprisingly generous young man. The film becomes a series of encounters in which Latif, infatuated with Rahmat, secretly tries to help her in any way possible, donating his entire savings to her family and involving himself in protecting her from the hands of inspectors looking for illegal immigrants.

Though I found Baran to be, at times, somewhat repetitious and dramatically weak (it doesn't help that Latif and Rahmat never interact), it is a humanistic film, full of warmth and humor. Though a film about dehumanizing working conditions, its true focus is the emotional awakening of a young man who has discovered his own self worth through the act of kindness to another, perhaps symbolizing the discovery of the plight of Afghans by the Western world. Baran (also translated as "Rain", the symbol for springtime) builds to a poignant climax, leaving Latif with the wistful image of a footstep in rain-splattered mud, an image that may remain with him as a constant inspiration for future self-sacrifice.

This film is incredible, a visual masterpiece. Majid Majidi has the ability to make every frame and every shot beautiful and enigmatic. The story is in some scenes humorous, in others moving.

This film has lessons to teach in humanity and generosity.

It is also a window for viewers in Western countries (such as myself) whose lives are so far removed from those of the characters and real people like them. Very few films have to ability to transport you to another place so completely, as this film does.

Baran is the story of an Iranian construction worker, Latif, who is not really doing his job - he serves tea and food to the rest of the workers, managing to avoid the really hard work. He is at first a hot-tempered, selfish youth - but then, 'Rahman', an illegal Afghanistan imigrant, comes to work. He is a young, weak worker, and is at once put in Latif's job - and Rahman does a better job, too. Jealous and angry, Latif tries to make life miserable for his new adversary... until he accidentally discovers that 'Rahman' is not a boy - 'Rahman' is 'Baran', a woman.

Latif, who even though used to be a careless youth, always had a soft, romantic spot in his heart - and when he realizes Baran is a woman, he falls in love with her. He seeks to protect and help her, and his entire life is slowly and surely changed for the better because of her.

Many people have critisized this film, saying it's poorly acted, the script is badly written, etc. Please remember: this is not a Hollywood movie! This movie is not in the least bit American, therefore the viewer needs to be open minded to the different culture of Iranian cinema. Baran never says a single word in the entire film. 'BARAN' is a beautiful romantic drama filled with angst and stunning visual scapes. I give it 8 out of 10 stars.