Marmoulak

Just saw this film at its American debut (?) at the Neptune Theater as part of the Seattle Int'l Film Festival. Marmoulak (The Lizard) is a heartwarming and saddening tale about a man on the run who disguises himself as a Mullah while trying to sneak across the border to get out of Iran. A comedic satire in the tradition of La Ley de Herodes, Marmoulak is full of gentle humanist irony which becomes sadly evident but never too overt. Parvis Parastui gives an outstanding performance in the lead, and all the supporting roles are also acted at a highly competent level. The story and cinematography are quite professional as well. After a very successful run, Marmoulak was banned in Iran as sacrilegious. It's definitely worth checking out. Every American who thinks about the nuclear option when the Middle East is discussed should certainly be forced to watch this film.

I had the chance of watching this excellent movie yesterday at the Montreal World Film Festival. This is the second Iranian film that I've seen (the first was 'Taste of Cherry') and I'm enchanted.

This is the story of a thief who has an extraordinary agility at climbing walls just like a lizard (Marmoulak), his escape from prison, and his redemption. To hide his identity, he becomes a mullah (Muslim religious scholar) and improvises as best as he can. The dialogs on theology and Muslim daily life are funny, yet very powerful. This excellent movie is not only a slap to the ruling clergy in Iran, but also a slap to religious fundamentalism of any faith.

The acting is very good. The 'Mullah' role is performed beautifully and the Lizard gives the Mullah the right dose of authority and charisma while remaining a very down-to-earth person. I enjoyed every minute. This is a movie that I'll be delighted to watch again.

Highly recommended. 9/10

Summary: One of the best Iranian movies ever made, but for an Iranian audience only.

Marmoulak is a political/social satire, but its comedy is subtle and better understood by an Iranian audience. I'd like to compare it to "Blazing Saddles", often cited by American movie watchers as one of the funniest movies ever made, while a non-American audience is only mildly amused by it. Cultural differences play a big role.

Marmoulak's power of humor lies in the comments, words, situations and overall behaviour of the characters, which are not always understandable to the non-Iranian crowd. For instance, many of the seemingly innocent comments in the movie are copied or distorted very cleverly from the political/religious slogans, speeches and actions of Iran's religious clergy. Those parts are easily identifiable and enjoyable by Iranians, while non-Iranians may not quite understand the subtlety of it.

That said, the movie is powerful, enjoyable and with brilliant acting. The story is quite simple and has been repeated in many forms before. A jailed thief seizes upon a chance encounter to escape from prison using the stolen clothes of a clergyman. With Prison's warden (depicted as a despotic maniac) after him, he escapes to a border village where the local people think he has been sent for preaching in their mosque. The rest of the movie depicts the thief's efforts to find a way across the border, while playing the role of an unconventional preachers who actually plays a huge role in the life of the villagers.

Parviz Parastooi plays the lead role in a breathtakingly magnificent way, and this fact is again only obvious to an Iranian audience who know exactly the class of people he is trying to portrait. The movie has a good pace; in contrast with other well known Iranian movies such as Kiarostami's and Panahi's works that are typically very slow. Dialogues are extremely clever.

Given 9 out of 10 by this reviewer.

I, as an Iranian, think this is by far one of the greatest films I have ever seen in my life, and although you may think that I'm bias, I was actually born and raised in the United States. The move was a comedy, yes, it was funny, but that is a very minor element in this film where I think profound Iranian culture, spirituality, and decency was brilliantly portrayed. I have seen this move over 5 times, and each time I watch it, I am refreshed by the moving inspiration and profound subtleties of the film.

This movie beautifully depicts the traditional outlook of mullahs (as well as the common traditional believers in Iran), and the universal spirituality of being a true believer. If this movie is merely interpreted as a jest to put down mullahs, or as a pure comical film of the trenches of disguise and deceit, then I feel sorry for that viewer's simplistic view. Well-done to the director for making this masterful film, and I'm sorry for the non-Iranians who will probably only get 30 % of the essence and meaning of this film.

Lastly, this film IS prevalent and easily ACCESSIBLE in Iran, and it is on DVD.

Living in Iraq with almost the same enormous and irrational religious influence on community i appreciated the movie to be the real expression of educated and enlightened people living in the shadows of injustice and multiple boundaries that is limiting the talents.The movie is giving us very important message about what God and religion is all about.