Le pardon

On the day on which BERLINALE winner Jafar Panahi (Golden Bear 2015 for "Taxi Tehran") was arrested in Tehran, it is of course even more important to remember Iranian cinema. This film also tells of guilt and forgiveness with formal rigor. Together with her husband Behtash Sanaeeha, the Swedish-Iranian actress, director and screenwriter Maryam Moghaddam (*1970) was nominated for the Golden Bear at the BERLINALE 2021.

Mina's husband (Maryam Moghaddam) was sentenced to death and executed a year ago. Since then, she has had to look after her deaf daughter Bita (Avin Purraoufi) alone. Her brother-in-law (Pourya Rahimisam) makes an unpleasant effort to look after her. Suddenly it turns out that Mina's husband was innocent. The judge Reza (Alireza Sanifar), whom Mina has never seen, has remorse and begins to take care of Mina and her daughter. Of course, this can't remain undetected forever...

What does it mean to have to live normal everyday life and special crisis situations in a religious dictatorship like Iran? Especially in a big city juggernaut like Tehran! However, there can be no normal everyday life for single women in Iran. And even for young guys like Reza's son, the only way out is often to escape into an overdose. After all, drugs are not a problem in Tehran. Films from Iran are often like a message in a bottle that smuggles secret messages. This is also the case here, where little Bita was named after a film character from 1972, who was played by the Persian superstar Googoosh (*1950, according to Wikipedia) in the pre-revolutionary period.

A great film in which every look, every gesture and every detail counts. Let's hope that Panahi and all his imprisoned colleagues will be released soon!!!

The movie synopsis reveals that the husband of a woman and father has been tragically executed in error. I would have like to have known a little more about his trial an execution because those were cornerstones of the premise. However, they were not the focus of the film. Viewers are told more about those circumstances throughout the film and they might have revealed secrets that were important to storytelling. The widow suffers in many ways far beyond the initial tragedy because of the regressive actions of her in-laws and the misogynistic attitudes and laws of her society. Moreover, the widow was not the only person who suffers great loss in response to the wrongful execution, as the effects of the tragedy spread to many others in unexpected ways. The film constantly challenges the viewer not only to acknowledge criminal justice and social systems, especially in Iran, but assess their own views of justice, consequences, and revenge.

This is a movie with a sad premise which gives us only brief episodes of happiness throughout and none at the end. I highly recommend watching this movie, but the viewer should be prepared to find little joy from the conclusion. I only hope that this film and others like it will shine some light on dark issues of women's and human rights in Iran and all around the world where supposedly good men impose their laws, values, and religious tenets unjustly upon others. Watch it and learn more about others and yourself.

Compelling drama, highlighting women's very narrowly restricted freedom to live a life in Iran. She became a widow after her husband was executed for a murder. The opening scene shows us that the judicial system failed here, in hindsight, as the real murderer was found later, one year after the execution. Quote: "It would have been the will of Allah, otherwise this would not have happened," a peculiar line of reasoning that only believers in Divine Providence can follow. She demands a bureaucratic excuse and is promised some financial compensation but that is left dangling for no clear reason.

Being dramatic enough in itself, it is only a prelude to the story that follows. After letting an unrelated man in her house, someone who wants to repay a debt owed to her late husband, precisely at a moment that she nearly runs out of money, so he was very welcome. Alas, others in the apartment block saw it happening without a "responsible relative" present, and this proves to be ample reason for unconditional eviction out of her apartment. Similar offenses against how a woman should behave, all of those trivial in our eyes, gave rise to accusations of being a bad mother, and she has to defend the custody of her daughter in court.

The death penalty after a murder is not the central issue here, although it seems that way for a moment. As explained in the movie, imprisonment seems easier to reverse when proven unjustified after some years. But that is only superficially so (quote: can you repair 10 years of someone's life in prison??). There had been due process, after which three judges were convinced of the guilt of the defendant. This movie has no intention to criticize Iran's judicial system (contrary to convictions in the context of religion or politics, as demonstrated in other movies, but that is a completely different matter and not the topic here). In the murder case at hand there were two independent witnesses, which is deemed sufficient as per current law (quote: how many more witnesses do we need to be really sure?). And that one of the witnesses proved an opportunistic liar in hindsight, being the actual murderer himself, can happen everywhere.

I don't think it is proficient to reveal subsequent developments. It is made very clear that every move this woman makes, works out contra productively. After losing her house (see above), also her job in the factory she works is at stake, as well as the custody of her daughter. Then there appears a man she does not know on her doorstep, at the rescue. I leave the remainder of the story for you to watch how it logically develops while seeing this movie that is worth its time in full.

Finally quality cinematography after a long time. Fortunately this is because of movies from countries like Iran where this gem comes from. 1 hour and 41 minutes with not a single boring second. It grips you from the beginning without letting you down until the end. A manifestation against death penalty, showing a very original aspect of the facts, so I cannot reveal anything otherwise I am gonna spoil the whole movie. After a while the whole plot points out brilliantly the connection between loss, justice, rules, forgiveness and punishment by people and God; the perfect confession to a crime which falls apart despite the strong evidence. In any case this movie is ideal for every judge and prosecutor out there, it's a very deep lesson to crisis above people for their actions. It also contains some very provoking parts from the Coran, some are quite chilling as this one: the meaning of our life lies at the consequences of our actions. Go and watch it.

Have you been wept recently watching a movie. Watch this movie. Its a family drama. Its is rare to see good people in real day life thats why we have these cinemas to watch and look upon ourselves.