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Iran

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

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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

Saturday at AFIFest 2018

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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.

AFIFest – Easier Than a Trip to Cannes

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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

Fireworks Wednesday – Marriage Iranian Style

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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?