• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Film
  • DVD
  • Editorial
  • About ScreenFish

ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • News
  • OtherFish
  • Podcast
  • Give

Iran

Yalda, A Night of Forgiveness

December 11, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“An eye for an eye is very costly. It’s not easy at all.”

Many religions speak about forgiveness. It may be about the way we have been forgiven, or it may focus on our need to forgive others. In Yalda, A Night of Forgiveness from Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi, the process of forgiveness is the engine that drives the story.

Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) has been convicted of murdering her temporary husband Nassar Zia and sentenced to death. But in Iran, the death sentence can be avoided if the family of the victim forgives. Maryam is scheduled to appear on a television show, “Joy of Forgiveness”, which brings together killer and family to try to negotiate forgiveness on live TV. She must persuade her husband’s daughter Mona (Behnaz Jafari) to spare her from hanging.

Nearly the whole film takes place within the TV station. Since it is a live show, there are issues that come up that create a certain amount of chaos. This is not staged with an assumed outcome, although the producers of the show certainly would prefer a happy ending.

There is a bit of surreality to this show, because along with being reality show, it is also a variety entertainment, with songs and other guests. And there is a viewers’ poll about whether Maryam should be forgiven, the numbers determining if the sponsors will pay the blood money involved. Part of the strangeness of the show is that this episode takes place on Yalda, the Zoroastrian celebration of the winter solstice. This longest night of the year is a time of family celebrations. To have such a downer subject on TV is bothersome to one of the producers of the show who keeps wanting to lighten things up.

Much of the film is spent with the moderated dialogue between Maryam and Mona. Maryam views Mona as a big sister and mentor. But now Mona is cold and hardened.  Maryam is encouraged to beg for mercy, but instead she maintains her innocence, claiming the death was an accident. There are other issues involved in this conversation, some of which only play out in the background. Then a surprise revelation to everyone concerned brings many more issues into play.

Through it all we are left to consider whether Mona should or will forgive Maryam and save her life. We may also want to consider what reasons there should be for Mona’s decision. The nature of forgiveness itself is never expressly stated. Instead we are focused more on the pragmatic, cultural, and economic issues at play. But in one of the entertainment interruptions to the show, a famous movie star comes on to read a poem in celebration of Yalda. Before reading the poem she tells the viewers, “Yalda means that life is short, that the extra minutes we share together are cause for celebration.” While that may seem extraneous to the negotiations taking place over Maryam’s life, it serves to speak to the value of life—each moment of life. That in itself may be a reason for any of us to consider the value of forgiveness in our lives.

Yalda, A Night of Forgiveness is available on virtual cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Film Movement.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: forgiveness, Iran, tv show

Saturday at AFIFest 2020

October 20, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Going to festivals often results in a bit of emotional whiplash. My Saturday viewing at AFIFest 2020 Presented by Audi is an example of that. From stories about executions to animated folklore to the angst of a recovering addict heavy metal drummer who suddenly loses his hearing. It is a day of very strong reactions.

The Iranian film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin Film Festival. Director Mohammed Rasoulof has recently been sentenced to prison and banned from making films in Iran. This is a series of vignettes that eventually ask the question “What kind of animal could execute someone?” We meet a family man doing his daily routines. We see a soldier who struggles with having the job of executing a criminal. We meet another soldier on his way to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday who finds the house in mourning. We see a young woman who has come back to Iran to visit her uncle and aunt, only to discover an amazing secret.

The beautiful cinematography and the excellent stories show us a very human view of these people who all in some way are touched by capital punishment. The stories evolve to our discovery of a twist we probably didn’t expect. At the heart of the film is the question of what kind of effect capital punishment has on those who must carry it out. A powerful film that is very deserving of the accolades it has garnered.

The film I most anticipated coming into the festival was Wolfwalkers, directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. This is the third animated film based in Irish folklore from Cartoon Saloon. Like the previous films, Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea, the hand animation is beautiful, drawing on the art history of the time period being portrayed. The story involves a young girl, Robyn Goodfellow, sent to Ireland with her hunter father. Her father is tasked with ridding the woods of wolves. Robyn wants to hunt with him, but her father forbids it. She doesn’t mind. In the woods, she comes across another young girl, Mebh, who has more lupine than human behavior. Mebh is a wolfwalker, she is a human when awake, but when asleep, her spirit takes the body of a wolf. She also has magical healing powers. Her mother, the head wolfwalker, has been asleep for a long time.

As Robyn tries to help Mebh, she discovers that because of a bite from Mebh, Robin is now a wolfwalker as well. Meanwhile Robin’s father and the Lord Protector are trying to wipe out the wolf pack. The folkloric stories that Cartoon Saloon has brought us all have an environmental message in that our efforts to conquer the natural world has had a terrible price. Like those who created such tales, we need to live more in harmony with the world around us.

Riz Ahmed as Ruben in SOUND OF METAL Courtesy of Amazon Studios

In Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal, we encounter a man who seems to lose everything in his life, but may indeed find true peace. Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a heavy metal drummer who plays with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke). When he suddenly loses most of his hearing, he wants to push forward with cochlear implants, but the cost is prohibitive, and as a recovering addict, he is struggling. He reluctantly joins a community of deaf recovering addicts. He rebels against his deafness, but slowly begins to fit in with others with hearing impairments. When he sells all he has for his surgery, he may be back into addiction behavior (addiction to hearing or past life?).

Through it all the leader of the deaf community tries to get him to stop trying to fix things (mostly his deafness). He urges him to try to just sit—to find stillness. He tells Ruben that moments of stillness are the “place of the Kingdom of God.” I should point out that this is an emotionally exhausting story. I don’t mean that to discourage anyone from seeing it. That emotional involvement in the story should be a key goal of all filmmakers. Darius Marder, in his first feature narrative film manages to summon our emotions for Ruben’s search for happiness and life.

I should also comment on a short that I’ve seen. Shorts are always an important part of AFIFest. In A 1984 Period Piece in Present Day from Sean Glass, we meet a couple who check into a somewhat spooky motel for the night. There they watch an old episode of “Creepshow”. It is one that the man remembers fondly, but when looked at from the present day, there are serious issues with it. Has the show become outdated, have we grown as a culture, or is it just as spooky to consider as it was then?

Filed Under: AFIFest, Film, Film Festivals Tagged With: animation, Iran, Ireland

2020 So Far: Iran, Church Shooting, Star Wars, Golden Globes

January 8, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive

Your Sunday Drive Podcast Season 2, Episode 1.

In our first episode of 2020, we briefly refocus the goal of this podcast: seeking ways to approach current culture in a Christian/biblical way. We then ask “what’s happening so far in 2020?,” covering topics from the conflict with Iran and another recent church shooting, to some reflections on Star Wars and the Golden Globes fallout.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Bible, christian podcast, Christianity, gervais, Iran, pop culture, shooting, Star Wars, Trump, war

Saturday at AFIFest 2018

November 11, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

For me, Saturday at AFIFest Presented by Audi was a day of globetrotting. Films often bring the world to us in many different ways. We see other countries through the eyes of filmmakers who wish to share their cultures—both with love and with a critical eye. They introduce us to people we might never meet, but we get a chance to know and appreciate.

Iran is a country much in our national news with talks of nuclear programs and sanctions. But that is not what filmmaker Jafar Panahi is interested in. In 3 Faces, well-known actress Behnaz Jafari (herself) gets a phone-made video from a young woman who may or may not have committed suicide because her family won’t let her study acting. Jafari sets off with a director friend (Panahi) to go to the remote mountain village to discover the truth. The trip brings us in contact with many people who have nothing to do with the issues that fill the news. The film focuses on the customs of the people and especially on how that affects women in that society. It is of note that Panahi has been arrested, sentenced to jail (now a loose house arrest), forbidden to leave the country, and banned from making films for 20 years. Obviously, he is still doing so. 3 Faces is scheduled to be released here in the spring.

For a lighter story, Sweden provides Amatuers. When a German low-price superstore considers placing a store in the small town of Lafors, the cash-strapped city council ask students to make a promotional film about the town. On seeing the results, they find a real filmmaker to come and take over. But two of the students keep at it to create something that shows the true character of the town. This is a story about allowing those who are overlooked to be seen and heard. The film shows the broad range of diversity that makes up the society. It also shows the personal level of what it is like to be part of a society, but not quite really be a part.

Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón has made a very personal film in Roma. In a taped message before the screening, Cuarón noted that it was based on memories from his childhood in Mexico City in 1971, and called it “a love letter to the woman who raised me.” The film is not so much about plot as it is a character study of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) a maid in the home of a doctor’s family. She is both part of the family, but also her place is nearly always that of a servant. The film is vignettes of her life with the family—the tragedies, and the joys. The film is a visual treat with astounding black and white cinematography. But its real power is the emotional strength of some of the scenes. Roma is Mexico’s official entry for Oscar consideration. It opens in select theaters on November 21, and will be available on Netflix in mid-December.

Filed Under: AFIFest, Film, Film Festivals Tagged With: Alfonso Cuarón, Iran, Jafar Panahi, Mexico, Official Oscar entry, Sweden

AFIFest – Easier Than a Trip to Cannes

November 13, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

We don’t all get to go to Cannes for what may be considered the most prestigious film festival. I know I don’t make it there. But yesterday at AFIFest  (presented by Audi), I managed to see three films that all won awards at Cannes this year. And I didn’t have to pay for airfare and a hotel room.

daniel-blake

Ken Loach won his second Palme d’Or for I, Daniel Blake. (His first was for The Wind that Shakes the Barley in 2006.)  Loach’s films offer social criticism focusing on everyday people struggling with the issues of life. Daniel Blake is a carpenter who is off work because of a heart attack. Although his doctor says he can’t work, the bureaucracy had deemed him fit for work and has cut off his disability. He can, however, apply for job seekers’ assistance. As he deals with the heartless bureaucracy that is more concerned with the rules and procedures than actually helping people, he meets a young single mother trying to raise two children in the same system. This is a film about caring and non-caring. It is a reminder that those with financial struggles are people who deserve respect and compassion. The film will be in theaters around Christmas. Look for a fuller review then.

only-end-of-world

The Iranian film The Salesman won the awards for Best Screenplay (Asghar Farhadi) and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini) at Cannes. Farhadi’s films often deal with the relationship between a husband and wife. In The Salesman Emad and Rana are both actors who are in a production of Death of a Salesman. After Rana is attacked in their apartment, their relationship is under stress as Emad is out for revenge and Rana is feeling vulnerable and wanting everything to go away. Questions of vengeance and mercy play out—mostly by looking at how those choices affect Emad and Rana. The Salesman is Iran’s official Oscar entry.

salesman

The Grand Prix is the second most prestigious award at Cannes. This year it went to the Canadian film It’s Only the End of the World. Louis is a playwright who left his home twelve years ago and is coming back for a visit. He tells us at the beginning of the film that this is a “journey to announce my death.” When he arrives at his mother’s home, his sister, brother and sister-in-law are all there. We soon discover that this is a family that defines itself by bickering with one another. Their times together are often uncomfortable. Louis has various one-on-one scenes with each of the others, but we know that these are people we wouldn’t want to be around any more than Louis has the last twelve years. At the same time, what role does Louis’s leaving have to do with the feelings that have developed in the family? It seems his return only serves as a catalyst to further exacerbate the fragile situation. It’s Only the End of the World is Canada’s official Oscar entry.

Photos provided by AFIFest presented by Audi

Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged With: AFIFest, Asghar Farhadi, Canada, Iran, Ken Loach, Official Oscar entry, Palme d'Or, UK, Xavier Dolan

Fireworks Wednesday – Marriage Iranian Style

April 8, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has developed a following in the last few years with films like The Past, About Elly, and the Best Foreign Language Oscar winner, A Separation (for which Farhadi also received a writing nomination). That means that we now get to see some of his earlier work, such as his 2006 film Fireworks, out Wednesday.

With the Iranian New Year as a backdrop, Roohi, a young bride-to-be is hired as a house cleaner for an affluent Tehran family. But she soon discovers that there are issues between the husband and wife. The wife enlists Roohi’s help in spying on her husband and her next door neighbor with whom she believes her husband is having an affair. Roohi gets caught up in shifting loyalties and in the web of lies that she begins to uncover. Worst of all, it may threaten to undo her trust in the bonds of marriage she is about to enter.

The film is structured as a thriller with bits of information and misinformation being dispensed a bit at a time. We, like Roohi, are very much in the dark about these two people and their problems. We also may have questions at the end about what should be done with that information. That gives the film just a small touch of a film noir quality in that we see a dark side of everyday life and are not quite sure how Roohi should respond to what she discovers.

Even though there may be some cultural differences, this really is a very universal film. Issues of infidelity and suspicion are common in marriages regardless of where people live. The distrust that Roohi encounters has poisoned the marriage of these two people. Will the experience spread the seeds of doubt as she enters her own marriage?

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Adghar Farhadi, infidelity, Iran, marriage

Primary Sidebar

THE SF NEWS

Get a special look, just for you.

sf podcast

Hot Off the Press

  • One Night in Miami: History for Today
  • Darrel’s Dozen (or so) 2020
  • Another Round – Just a Little Buzz
  • Disenchantment Part 3: Seeing the Present in the Past
  • The Ultimate Playlist of Noise: Listening for Life
Find tickets and showtimes on Fandango.

where faith and film are intertwined

film and television carry stories which remind us of the stories God has woven since the beginning of time. come with us on a journey to see where faith and film are intertwined.

Footer

ScreenFish Articles

One Night in Miami: History for Today

Darrel’s Dozen (or so) 2020

  • About ScreenFish
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 · ScreenFish.net · Built by Aaron Lee