Zalava

I have a feeling people who don't like this movie rate the Avengers movies pretty high. The movie broods but takes you on a journey that allows you to investigate your own relationship to the concepts of faith, fear, and motivation. Highly recommend.

This is a solid portrayal of a village's mass hysteria over a supposed demon that is blamed for any bit of bad luck that happens. This time, a local army sergeant wants to stop this nonsense, and the clash of cultures leads to an inevitable (but very predictable) tragedy.

The three lead actors (the sergeant, the doctor, and the exorcist) were sound, but the rest of the cast were very amateurish.

A beautiful Iranian film capable of showing what is not there and creating tension with a simple glass jar. Difficult, once seen, to forget it. In a village in Kurdistan, just before the revolution, a young sceptical sergeant fights against the irrational beliefs of the local population. They believe that demons (the jinn of the Islamic religion) exist and take possession of men and women. In this case they have to be shot in the legs to draw out the blood and with it the demon. The sergeant tries to convince them that this does not exist, but the arrival of an exorcist (who in the eyes of the sergeant seems nothing more than a vulgar charlatan) sets the stage for an impending tragedy. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent pace, solid tension and a sharp reflection on the unhealthy power of faith and autosuggestion and how little reason can do in the face of these destructive forces. Not to be missed.

I don't know why the score is so low. I watched it today at the NIFFF and it was BRILLIANT!

Never had so much tension because of a pickle jar! The acting is great, the editing is great, the stress is real! It's not so much a horror movie as there's no horror... what's horrible is how superstition leads to stupid actions.

If you like to open your mind on foreign cinema, this is it!

My absolute highlight of the Fantasy Filmfest so far (last day today). I just love it, when a movie engages with the viewer and knows that there are people who want to be challenged. Who want to think about things, who want the option to explain things themselves. What is real, what is actually happening? Do we see what we see or is there a different explanation? You can make your own mind up, what actually happens or happened.

Also the power of certain movements. Group movements, societal angst, fear in general and what it can make you do ... power in groups and auhorities. Can everything be explained? And should we rather be on the safe side? There are no easy answers here ... especially because of the way things unfold.

And by unfold I mean ... well you'll have to see. Althought even seeing, doesn't mean that what you saw is actually what happened. Can it be a coincidence if a glass breaks that is not supposed to break? Again this is so good because you can do things in your mind with it. And the way everyone is playing their character ... can there actually be a happy end? Really loved how "simple" this is on one hand, but how complex it is in the bigger scheme - making you think about it way after you've watched it.