Marooned in Iraq[First-viewing, cinema at San Francisco Film Festival, Kabuki Theatre in the city)(Bahman Ghobadi)- Shahab Ebrahimi, Faegh Mohammadi, Allah-Morad Rashtian
Ghobadi's follow-up to the brilliant, `A Time for the Drunken Horses', is just as stunning both visually and thematically. The cinematography in this film was absolutely marvelous judging by the difficulty it requires in such climates and places and the result which came of it (also one must take into account the low-budget of films in Iran). It's a story of Mirza (Ebrahimi) and his two sons (Mohammadi and Rashtian) journeying in the Kurd-populated province, Kurdistan, in Iran, and eventually into Kurd-populated part of Iraq (across the border). Mirza is looking for his ex-wife, Hanareh. Mirza is also a master musician in Kurdistan and his sons are musicians as well. This film starts out pretty funny actually in the first act, and one gets the sense of a more mature three stooges type film in a very tough atmosphere. However the film gets much stronger in its second and especially third act, as the story is sadenning, powerful and makes some very good points. Although the director was trying to make many points, and I'm not sure if he managed to convey all of them well, he raised some great issues about the society and personal lives of people and especially women. The film also had a beautiful score, provided by Iranian-Kurdish musician, Arsalan Kamkar. Although I preferred, `A time for the Drunken Horses' as it was the deepest and saddest Iranian film I have seen in the past couple of years and makes it point much clearer than this film, Marooned in Iraq is also a very good film which I recommend to any fan of international cinema. 9/10
Ghobadi's follow-up to the brilliant, `A Time for the Drunken Horses', is just as stunning both visually and thematically. The cinematography in this film was absolutely marvelous judging by the difficulty it requires in such climates and places and the result which came of it (also one must take into account the low-budget of films in Iran). It's a story of Mirza (Ebrahimi) and his two sons (Mohammadi and Rashtian) journeying in the Kurd-populated province, Kurdistan, in Iran, and eventually into Kurd-populated part of Iraq (across the border). Mirza is looking for his ex-wife, Hanareh. Mirza is also a master musician in Kurdistan and his sons are musicians as well. This film starts out pretty funny actually in the first act, and one gets the sense of a more mature three stooges type film in a very tough atmosphere. However the film gets much stronger in its second and especially third act, as the story is sadenning, powerful and makes some very good points. Although the director was trying to make many points, and I'm not sure if he managed to convey all of them well, he raised some great issues about the society and personal lives of people and especially women. The film also had a beautiful score, provided by Iranian-Kurdish musician, Arsalan Kamkar. Although I preferred, `A time for the Drunken Horses' as it was the deepest and saddest Iranian film I have seen in the past couple of years and makes it point much clearer than this film, Marooned in Iraq is also a very good film which I recommend to any fan of international cinema. 9/10