Brilliant piece of work
Richard K. Woodward | Edinburgh, Scotland | 08/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Edinburgh Film Festival screening I saw included a Q&A session with the director, Rafi Pitts, which gave extra insight into the artistry of this remarkable director (who sold his Teheran apartment to pay for the film). As is common in Iranian "new wave" or "neo-realist" cinema, all the cast except for the leading woman (a popular actress in Iran) were non-actors. The use of a professional for the role of the leading woman was part of Pitts' strategy to attract working-class viewers, since, as Pitts noted, it is difficult to make a film about working-class people in Iran which working-class people will actually go see. Similarly, this strategy lay behind the success of the scene in which the leading character, Marhab, talks for the first time to the leading actress. Marhab's shyness worked so well because the "actor" was genuinely embarrassed to be meeting a star in real life. One thing I don't understand in the reviews I have read elsewhere of this film is why Marhab is described by the critics as a "bad boy." This was definitely not Pitts' intention.
I look forward to seeing more from Rafi Pitts.
"