Haft va nim / Seven and a Half is the new Persian language film from the
Mahmoudi Brothers whose films are regularly put up as the Afghan entry for the Academy Awards. Their subject is the Afghan-Iranian experience with many Afghans moving to Iran, some as a way station to European homes.
Director Navid Mahmoudi's film is made up of seven vignettes each one featuring a distressed young woman battling the demands of Iranian society with an intimidating concept of marriage. Women in head scarfs, rather like men in military uniforms, tend to look the same making things no easier to follow.
Each story is recorded in a single run of Arri 4K digital which provides a muted colour image occasionally undermined by missing a change in exposure, an extra walking through the shot determinedly not looking at the camera or the question of how they are going to continue when someone closes the door on the camera.
Seven and a Half's major asset is it's rendition of a society about which we don't know enough. The film's earnestness and high purpose mark it as a contender for art film distribution which may be undermined by its seventy five minute running time.
