La pomme

_Sib_ offers a glimpse inside Iranian society that is rarely available to Western audiences. It looks and feels like a documentary, and apparently contains actual footage of the freeing of the twin girls who had been confined to the family home for their entire lives.

The blossoming of the two girls, which begins almost the moment that they are chased from the yard by a well-meaning but rather overbearing social worker, is a joy to behold. The scene in which the recently-freed twins steal ice creams from a young street vendor stands out as an example of the comedy that lightens a film that could, given a different treatment, have been relentlessly depressing. As the narrative develops, the father may be seen as a prisoner in his own right, trapped by his traditionalist religious beliefs, his fears for his daughters' safety and by the surprisingly domineering influence of his blind wife. Ultimately, _Sib_ shows that the forced release of the twins is also a release for their father, the nominal villain of the piece.

I can't add much to the review by Bob the Moo from Birmingham, who pretty much sums up the strengths of this film. However, as an illustration of the skill of the film-maker I would like to mention one scene that stands out in my memory, not in detail so as not to 'spoil', where a sense of incipient menace is subtly hinted at - one is almost expecting something horrible to go wrong to prove that it was right to keep the girls imprisoned for their own safety and this looks like being the moment when it happens; one hardly dares hope that it will have a happy and positive outcome - but it doesn't. It turns out there is nothing to worry about at all. This sounds like a non-event, but I found the subtlety with which this point was made quite outstanding.

The film is a pure delight, more powerful than any heavy diatribe against repressive regimes. The compassion with which all participants are presented in their own contexts, particularly the father who could have been demonised but isn't, is also outstanding. No judgements are made, and the lessons are all the more clear and convincing for that.

This is a film that stands out in my mind, both visually and symbolically, as clearly today as when I saw it several years ago.

Based on a true story and starring the very same people involved in it, this movie (by first time director Samira Makhmalbaf) tells the story of Zahra and Massoumef, twelve year old twins living on a very humble neighborhood in Tehran. Virtually imprisoned in their own home by their impoverished, ignorant, fundamentalist father and blind mother, they were freed by Iran social services after neighbors complained that the children had not bathed and could not speak. Makhmalbaf shows the twins attempting to function beyond their parents' wall after the social workers have intervened. They lack social skills to the extent of being unaware that they have to pay for food. Made when she was just 17 years old (probably with some help from her father, the acclaimed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf) this film stands very well in the Iranian tradition of social realist, humanist cinema that came out beginning in the mid 1980s. It's so moving, it will be hard for you not to cry while watching it.

I am a huge fan of Persian cinema. What I find most striking and pleasantly surprising is the lack of melodrama of any sort- a rarity in Asian cinema which is known for its over-the-top expressions and loud performances.

Like most other Iranian films, the performances are strikingly natural, right from the protagonist to the flower-girl who appears for less than ten seconds. The storyline is fairly predictable- within the first 20 minutes, you'll know what to expect from the rest of the movie. There are no twists, nothing that will catch you by surprise. Then again, it isn't a movie that tries to do so either. It is a bland story of the highs and lows of life in Iran, with a few laughs thrown in for good measure.

The Apple is not the greatest Iranian movie ever made- it does not possess the thought-provoking subtlety of The Circle or the heart-wrenching innocence of The Children of Heaven, but for a movie directed by an 18year old (and a woman at that), it is a fine effort.

Director Samira Makhmalbaf in her movie Sib (The Apple) speaks of how two young girls are confined to the four-walls of their house. At a time when women are treated on par with men, it is saddening to see that there are places in this world (Iran for one) where people still consider it taboo to educate the woman child, or as in this movie even let them outside their homes to see how the world looks like.

There's more to it. Their father is a 65-year-old beggar and their mom a blind lady who is paranoid about her daughters going to school or even outside their house. Their folks don't ever keep the girls clean. They are even deprived of a decent bath all these years. The result: The girls are unable to think like normal kids and grow up slightly deranged. Other than the blooming flowerpot outside their house and the sun, the girls have hardly witnessed what God's creation (Earth) looks like. This mere fact shocks viewers IMMEDIATELY. The pathetic plight of the girls will make viewers reach for their hankies.

But there's hope. They do get to come out and see the world and learn things when a social service organization helps them out. What happens, next and how they do it is for you to see.

The movie in its entirety moves more like a documentary and less like a movie. It is definitely not the run-of-the-mill cinema. In-fact it is on a higher plane than even commercial cinema. The social message is so powerful that the movie leaves a strong impression about the future of the woman child in places like Iran etc.

Critically acclaimed, Samira directed this movie when she was only 19. Kudos to her. At a age whilst most of us haven't even figured out life, here is someone who speaks of social problems plaguing third world countries. Must view for those who look for a social message in movies.