Director: Majid Majidi
Country: Iran
Year of release: 2008
Running length: approx 90 mins
Language: Farsi, Azeri
An Iranian film by Majid Majidi, the same chap who showed us Children of Heaven. It follows the misadventures of Karim, a poor but proud man, who lives in the hinterlands of Iran. He is unfortunate enough to lose his job at the ostrich farm, when a ostrich runs away from the farm. In search of other occupations, he lands up in the city where he is mistaken to be a motorcycle-taxi driver, and ferries customers around Tehran. His exposure to the city life makes him a victim of the vices of the place: greed, selfishness and stress.
The story also follows the troubles Karim’s son (age 9) and his friends go through to convert a dilapidated well into a fish pond. As is expected from Majidi, he handles children as well as (if not better than) his adult actors.
The story can be summarized in a few lines: Karim loses ostrich, finds other jobs, and then finds the ostrich again. His son and his friends want to take up an impossibly difficult project, and finish it with moderate success. This trivial storyline is brought to life in vivid detail by Majidi. He shows that he is far ahead in understanding the psyche of the people he is documenting than any other contemporary filmmaker.
Majidi uses the vibrant colours of the village to make a stark contrast with the dull greys and blacks of the city, to make his point that the village folks are indeed better off. He uses short sketches to give a deeper, more layered understanding of Karim’s character.
It’s a lovely, heart-warming watch. If you think that there is only bad left in the world, then you really must watch this film.
