Terrestrial Verses (Ayeh haye zamini) The main characters face a difficult task: each of them tries to Use a government bureaucrat or other self-important authority figure. They are all residents of Tehran and there is something uniquely Iranian in the oppressive regulations and pitfalls -17s hold them back, but there’s also a general resonance in the escalating craziness and dark innuendo.
In function22 subtly interlocking segments, with a single character facing off-screen interlocutors. A fixed camera hugs everyone as they try to make sense of arbitrary rules and requirements. Inspired by the intricate rhythms of the ghazal, the classic form of Persian poetry, writers and directors Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami have constructed a thoroughly modern work, Simple, elegant, with a deadly dry humor, full of pathos and outrage at the absurd. Despotism is designed to crush the soul.
Human scriptures
Bottom line The essence of deadly dry humor and righteous indignation.
Place : Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain View) Cast: Majid Salehi, Gohar Kheirandish, Farzin Mohades, Sadaf Asgari, Hossein Soleimani, Faezeh Rad, Bahram Ark, Sarvin Zabetian, Arghavan Shabani, Ardeshir Kazemi
director Also Writers: Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami 1 hour 20 minute
Terrestrial Verses, title taken from Forugh Farrokhzad, iconoclast of the century, cycle from birth to death, beginning with a new father (Bahram Ark)’s failed efforts to register a name for his young son. The next figure is a perky girl, about 8 years old (Arghavan Shabani), who grow older as the movie goes from one shot to the next. Deep intrusive lines of questioning unfold. The unseen figure of each vignette expresses strange demands and illogical reasoning, and is, for the most part, a nosy interviewer. “I’m here to help you,” said the government clerk, thwarting the young father’s intentions. But hope also blossoms in the good questions the various protagonists ask, often with a healthy dose of irony. Their suspicions were contained but still rising, and in some cases their alarm suddenly turned into silent defiance.
Most daring of all was a teenage girl (Sarvin Zabetian) called into the principal’s office because she was seen with a boy – on a motorcycle! ——There are also hard truths. Her boldness pays off, as it turns out, she has a card to play involving the hypocrisy of her potential Punisher.
Delving into state surveillance and restrictive policies against women, the next segment deals with 10 -something Sadaf (Sadaf Asgari), a rideshare driver trying to retrieve her car – was impounded because CCTV camera footage showed her riding around in a hijab. (The protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating hijab laws, had already begun when Helmsman began working on the film.) As Sadaf asserted her right to privacy, the transport ministry lackey sitting across from her insisted she was just Doing her job, and being more interested in her lunch than the political implications of the policies she enforces on her fellow women.
Faezeh Rad) If she gets hired by a private company, she responds to her ad. But it soon becomes apparent that no matter how generous the benefits offered, she will be working for a boss who is not only sexist but predatory.
Snooping affects men, too – notably Fabad (Hossein Soleymani), whose driver’s license application devolves into a ridiculous and disturbing investigation by a bureaucrat who has apparently Appoint yourself as the arbiter of normalcy. Farbad’s tattoo (Rumi’s verse) captures the interviewer’s disapproving interest, which morphs into a perverse obsession. Perhaps the most obvious vignette for his films, and most familiar to anyone who has seen the Iranian government’s persecution of the director Jafar Panahi , Mohammad Rasulov
and
Mustafa Alahmed . And of course Asgari and Khatami, who co-wrote the script for the former 30, until Tomorrow dramatizes the conflict between repressive traditions and personal choices in Iran, who have their own surreal encounters with the Ministry of Culture.
Mohades’ performance was brimming with energy. The official quietly irritated him by assuring him that he had no objections to the core of his proposed feature film — just the script, the title Disagreement with the psychological basis. He suggested that perhaps Ali could instead tell stories from the Qur’an.
The actors are pitch perfect, in 10 minutes or less. In the true poetic spirit, not a word or a moment is wasted. From the layered sound design (by Alireza Alavian) – setting the scene to loud sounds and traffic noise as you start your day in Tehran – to the design contributions (Hamed Aslani and Morvarid Kashian) that define the place and characters and the elegance With the precision of the cinematography (Adib Sobhani) and editing (Ehsan Vaseghi), the Terrestrial Verses are powerful understatement marvels.
With its piercing glimpses of courage and backlash in the face of totalitarian edicts and fundamentalism, the film offers hope. In one of the early clips, 8-year-old Selena’s sharp reactions are heartening. In the clothing store, she performed a feisty version of Alley Cat in front of a mirror, listening to pop music through shiny headphones, while her off-screen mother discussed the school uniform she was going to buy, and the saleswoman sketched out pictures aimed at schoolgirls. decree. The limits start with the colors Selena likes. The hilarious/heartbreaking sight of her engulfed in a drab oversized dress and veil is a light-off sight. This is a warning to all of us.
Full credits
Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard) Production companies: Taat Films, Seven Springs Pictures, Tell Tall Tale, Cynefilms Cast: Majid Salehi , Gohar Kheirandish, Farzin Mohades, Sadaf Asgari, Hossein Soleimani, Faezeh Rad , Bahram Ark, Sarvin Zabetian, Arghavan Shabani, Ardeshir Kazemi Director & Writer: Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami Produced by: Ali Asgari, Milad Khosravi Director of Photography: Adib Sobhani Production Designer: Hamed Aslani Costume Designer: Morvarid Kashian
Editor: Ehsan Vaseghi Composer: Masoud Fayazzadeh Sound Designer: Alireza Alavian
Sound Engineer: Abdolreza Heydari, Iman Bazyar International Sales: Films Boutique
Persian
1 hour minute
THR Communications
Sign up for THR News direct to your inbox daily
1235479581 SUBSCRIBE REGISTER
