Le chant des moineaux

I've only seen but a handful of films from Majid Majidi the master Iranian filmmaker, and he continues to open my eyes to Iranian cinema with his latest The Song of Sparrows, telling the tale of a down and out of luck Karim (starring regular Reza Najie), a general worker in an ostrich farm, and the life of his family in a quaint little village. Being the perpetual loser in life, sometimes as a consequence of victimization, we follow his misadventures as a small time guy being caught up with opportunities in the big city, again being the puppet on whom Chance chooses to smile upon.

There are plenty of comedic chaos in the film which makes this quite the delight to watch. In the beginning we see how he orders a group of children around when they were treading around sludge waters in an abandoned well to find the hearing aid belonging to his daughter. Taking charge over the operations and barking orders to the kids, we discover he's not exactly that inspirational a leader even amongst kids, being devoid of clever ideas whose bark is more severe than his bite. Then comes the escape of an ostrich in the farm which he and a group of fellow workers fail to recapture, leading to his dismissal from work.

With time on his hands, he journeys to Tehran to get his daughter's damaged hearing aid fixed, though the exorbitant repair costs provides additional headache. But he stumbles upon the motorcycle taxi business in the city by accident, and discovers it pays quite handsomely. Before you can say "opportunity", he's already on to it, and in a short span of time made a lot more money than he could have imagined, meeting with a myriad of characters, and with the cash, stocking up his home with material wealth. This segment of the story was made quite enjoyable by Karim's customers, some of whom are good to him, while others seek some incredible ways to exploit.

There's a sense of measured hysteria toward the end, but I had felt it was somewhat a statement made on how the ambitions stemming from opportunity would have presented an avenue for misguided corruption, as well as the failure to see the finer things in life that mattered a lot more. The son portrays the wishes of the common folk, in wanting to seek out their interest and a better life quite off tangent with the father figure of authority, who continues to punish his son and his friends, and discouraging them from pursuing their now broken dreams, which involved quiet determination in wanting to take over and clean up a filthy water storage tank for fish rearing and profit. The patriarch figure determines and dictates what can, or cannot be done, and doesn't hesitate to use a little violence to slap his orders across.

From success to loss, the final arc was one of the most colourful, and filled with some picture perfect imagery that would leave you spellbound, especially the scene with the hundreds of goldfish flapping around in need for water. Majid Madjidi once again crafted a film that will leave you reflecting upon the layers and messages hidden behind a film which came across as deceptively simple, on one level seeking to entertain, and on another a probable commentary of life hidden underneath the simplistic veneer.

This is the story of Karim, the rural Iranian father of a deaf teen-aged daughter and two younger children. When, at the same time, he loses his job on an Ostrich ranch and his daughter loses her hearing aid right before important school exams, he heads to Tehran on his motorbike to look for work. By accident, he becomes a motorbike taxi driver and begins to make more money than he ever dreamed of. But he also begins to change as his desire for things and his ethics collide. Having promised his wife that the first priority would be to replace their daughter's hearing aid, he finds himself tempted by the material life he now has access to. Several heart breaking incidents cause him to examine what he has become. While the story/parable may be familiar, what is special is the way Majidi presents it. The dialogue is minimal letting the non-verbal actions of the characters speak for themselves as well as the great cinematography. Unlike many (not all)American films, it does not insult your intelligence with shallow dialogue and unnecessary action. Majidi really develops the characters into believable human beings. Reza Naji is great as Karim and the children in the film are so delightful and photogenic. And if you enjoy learning about and experiencing other cultures, it is a great window into Iranian culture, in this case, both rural and urban. With most of us only getting the sound bites about Iran we hear on radio or TV, this will give an insight into the real people and culture.

From big to small, from loss to gain. We can make this Iranian Epic one into that phrase. The film begins with the close-up shot of an Ostrich and ends with the symbolic representation of a Sparrow (the title also refers to sparrow) similarly Karim (the protagonist) loses his job at the beginning of the movie and the end he regains it. This was the journey in between those losses and gain, where Karim uses that time in search of his real identity. The film is so much close because of the realistic representation of the characters, setting, and subject matter. It also discusses both the Iranian outskirts as well as the kinetics revolving around the city. Karim is always looking forward to both the city and the village. And he realizes his soul at the end as he put a little smile on his face when he saw the Ostriches on the truck.

No big drama, no intense car chase, no sex-laden imagery. Yet the film tugs. It has a compelling draw. It has all the simplicity of making a living, raising kids, living life. And then there are moments which confront complexity, where dreams and desires crash against life's harshness. Letting go an easy but corrupt deal which could pay for the daughter's hearing aid, being able to break into a song after the kids have witnessed their long-cherished plan choke on itself. The camera captures some poetry – of blue doors, sweeping vistas with ostriches, and landscapes which come alive from a kid's loving scrawl to full bloom. Did you know the pleasure of being on a breezy rooftop with your wife while the kids watch TV late in the evening? For such and many other life's precious moments, this film is a must watch.

Another movie that played at the Berlin Film Festival, this low-key drama has a very human side to it. The actors (some of which were also in Germany for the premiere and seem as down to earth, as the roles they played in this movie) are really good and have a simplicity to them that is very gorgeous.

The characters are very down to earth and the story itself or let's say it's pace, might remind people of classic movies such as "Bicycle Thieves" (kind of neo-realism, if you want to call it that). If you don't have a problem with that, then you will enjoy this movie as much as the audience in Berlin did (including myself) :o)