theordinaryreview

Jafar Panahi: "If we could tell a film, then why make a film?"

My interest in Iranian cinema started with Dayereh (2000) by Jafar Panahi and since then I've watched a few other Iranian films of which most are directed by him. I remember after the first film I saw, I read about him on Wikipedia and read about his sentence and ban from film making. It is quite shocking and this gives more sense to this documentary which would have never been seen if it hadn't been smuggled out of Iran on a USB stick.

In film nist starts with Jafar Panahi having breakfast over the course of breakfast he calls a friend, Iranian documentary director Mojtaba Mirtahmasb asking him to come over. The only link we have with the outside world is through his phone. Before his friend comes Jafar has a phone call with his lawyer who confirms that he will definitely have to go to prison and that she may try to reduce the ban duration on appeal but it's probably all she can do. She tells him that it is not a judiciary sentence but a political one. When his friend arrives, Jafar Panahi explains the last films he wanted to do and how they were both denied approval and had to let them go. He has the script of one and decides that he can explain it, using his living room, the carpet representing the room in which a girl is- also- imprisoned and a chair for the window.

This is not a film is exactly what the title says it is. It is a day, a documentary at most. Most of Jafar Panahi movies give a lot of freedom to (amateur) actors who creates the whole atmosphere. It seems clear that this was not planned either, this has no script or no particular goal except to have a camera there, to document whatever could be documented before it's too late.

The setting is also particular as the whole town goes crazy over the celebrations of "Fireworks Wednesday" and the two friends stay inside, wondering what to do and how to do it. It gets particularly strange when Jafar Panahi starts recording with his mobile phone, filming the act of being filmed. I think the highest point of this film being not a film, is when Jafar Panahi explains the story of this film he was going to make and in the middle of replaying it... He suddenly becomes silent and his face tells us that he has strong doubts and this is where the quote I picked is said, he doubts the whole concept of a film, of telling a story and if it is a story worth telling. It might be reduced to the film he was discussing in particular, however, I would think that it goes beyond that, that it touches every film he's done including this one.

A lot of the issues are not entirely discussed, maybe as a way to retain dignity in the face of a sentence or simply because they are not thought out to be relevant. These very blunt, almost political and philosophical moments contrast with the comical aspect of his iguana pet slowly climbing a bookshelf or the neighbor who tries to leave her dog with him before he simply starts barking. It is also strongly incidental as when a young arts student walk in to come and pick the trash, a job he does to help out his sister and brother-in-law, suddenly the story focuses on him and as he goes on to pick up the trash, we follow him. In a way, isn't that what movies always tried to do, follow the strange happenings of life?

I liked: It doesn't get much more explicitly banned film, well this is not a film.

I disliked: Very random in a bumpy unscripted way.

70/100 If you are looking for a deep political look in the situation of Iran's cinema industry and its struggle then you won't find it. This is a purely individual look at what it is to be a forbidden film maker.

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The Man in the Tea House: "If you want to arrest a thief, you'll have to arrest the world."

The movie starts in a jewelry store where a man with a helmet is pointing a gun at an older man asking him where the jewels are. After somewhat of a fight, the older man manages to shut the grid on the burglar who shoots him in retaliation while bystanders look from the outside. We are then introduced to Hussein, a tall man of few words, and his colleague, Ali. Ali has just robbed a purse and discovers that there is a receipt for a jewel in the purse. Ali and Hussein work together as pizza delivery persons. The movie will follow the events that lead up to the burglary, encounters that Hussein make, his plans of marriage with Ali's sister and the constant affirmation of his social status.

Crimson Gold is a very dark movie, both in substance as in colors. Most of the scenes happen at night when Hussein rides his scooter through town and only a few scenes take place during the day. If I had to describe what the film is in the fewest words possible I would have to say that it is a social critique. We see Hussein poor and we are constantly reminded of it. We see his colleagues who aim for material desires while living on their low payrolls. We also encounter rich customers that Hussein meets but they are depressed or repressed by the police. There is a saying that one can't buy happiness and this might be the lesson we, and everyone in the film, learns through this journey.

Hussein is a very complex character with often very erratic behaviors and never many words of explanations. I wouldn't have guessed and I don't know if it is meant to be understood that the character is a paranoid schizophrenic, but the trivia on IMDb state the actor actually is. He seems indifferent to pretty much every situation except in few occasions when he might get really upset because a man reminds him of his social status of "poor", but he can also prove to have a heart of gold when, stuck and stranded in a street because of a police operation, he offers pizzas to everyone present. These scenes shone the most, as unfortunately, I think a lot of the other scenes were unfulfilling simply because of his lack of attention to his surroundings or to his interlocutors. He offers no judgement, denotes no pleasure or displeasure in anything.

As common with Jafar Panahi's movies, the surroundings are very bare and there is hardly any music. Most of the scenes are genuinely filmed in the streets and most of the beauty or ugliness relies on the mere city, a landscape or a simple interaction.

I found the overall message of the movie to be somewhat misleading like the horizons of Hussein suddenly turned black because he saw rich people are not necessarily more happy than he is. I liked dark movies and there is never a single reason to commit a crime, but given the tools the movie offered us, we are left wondering what is going on in Hussein's head and why does he do such things.

I liked: A clash of sorts. Characters struggles.

I disliked: Uncanny. One way. Everyone in their own bubble.

62/100 A slow unfolding of what we know will happen. A very dark and mysterious tale.

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