Frontier Blues (2009)
Part of the Nowrūz And Persian Films
| Director: | Babak Jalali |
|---|---|
| Certificate: | BBFC 12 |
| Length: | |
| Format: | DVD |
| Language: | Persian, Turkmen |
| Country: | Iran |
On Iran's northern frontier with Turkmenistan, the land of "heartbreak and tractors", first time director Babak Jalali mines absurdist humour and quiet pathos from the immutable routines of a stranded group of men. Hassan, a Persian with Cokebottle glasses, whose only pal is his ever-present donkey, collects license plates and listens to a Francoise Hardy song over and over.
His uncle runs a clothing store whose items never seem to fit his customers. A Turkmen minstrel (posing for a Tehrani photographer more interested in an exotic ideal than the real man in front of his camera) pines for the wife he lost 30 years ago. And Alam, a young Turkmen working on a chicken farm, devotes his free time to learning English so that he can run away with the Persian woman he loves, but has never talked to. Together, these characters go through the motions of living while preoccupied with escape.
Against beautiful, dead-pan tableaus and with a plaintive score, Jalali teases out the intense longing hidden behind his characters' stoic expressions, crafting a humane and drolly charming first feature that leaves an indelible impression.
Other films in the Nowrūz And Persian Films:
13
Film: A Separation (2011) + Introduction By Tina Gharavi
13 Mar 2013, 7:30 p.m.
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
27
Film: Offside (2006)
27 Mar 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Girls try to watch a World Cup qualifying match in Stadium but are forbidden by law because of their sex. The film was inspired by the director's daughter, who decided to attend a game anyway. The film was shot in Iran but its screening was banned there
31
Film: At Five In The Afternoon (2003) Panj É Asr
31 Mar 2013, 7:30 p.m.
A story of an ambitious young woman trying to gain an education in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban. The title comes from a Federico García Lorca poem and is a tale of flourishing against the odds.
04
Film: Taste Of Cherry (1997) Ta'm E Guilass
4 Apr 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Mr.Badii is planning to commit suicide and desperately seeks anyone to assist him - he has already dug out the grave in the mountains, but the assistant will have to bury him when he will do the deed.