The title is rather poetic. The film centers around Bahman Farjami (Bahman Farmanara, the writer, director, filmmaker himself took on the role), a man in his fifties, slightly chubby and looking tired. The "smell of camphor" actually associates with his memories of his wife, while the "fragrance of jasmine" reminds him of being in his mother's house. During a beginning phone conversation, we know his son, Nima, will not be able to accompany Bahman to visit his wife's grave on the anniversary (5 years hence) of her death. Nima's wife is expecting to give birth.
It is drama in three acts with touches of a documentary. Each has a repeated scene of Bahman sitting by the window on a moving train. The whole film resembles one being on a journey in tandem with what's going through one's mind (and heart - he really misses his beloved wife, and worries over his mother who has Alzheimer's).
"A Bad Day" - such directness in the title, you'd sense he's going to tell you like it is. It's a seemingly ordinary day to start with: he takes out a bouquet of flowers from the fridge, gets into his car, heads for the cemetery. On the way, he stops and gives a lift to a woman in black chador. Through the conversation between Bahman and the passenger, we learned about an aspect of a struggling Iranian family. Bahman the filmmaker, mature in his filmic experiences (in spite of 24 years lapsed without a film produced - this information we learn through his brief exchange with a stranger in an elevator), discloses many phases of Iranian living and politics through conversations. There's the exchange with the cemetery administrator; his visit to his lawyer's house; answering a call from a friend's wife in need. There are scenes without conversations - at times in silence without music - just our eyes following him with audible ambient sounds. These are poignant, subtle captures of what's going on within him, reacting to situations at hand.
We continue on to "The Funeral Arrangements." Bahman is researching for an Iranian funeral documentary for a Japanese TV production. We follow and eavesdrop on him: at the shop where they sell elaborate lighting installations for funerals or weddings; visiting a terminally ill artist who's delighted to be in the film experience; at a fellow artist's abode and his many cats Again, through conversational exchanges, including a subliminal TV broadcast we hear while Bahman dozes off on the couch, we are presented with facets of Iranian culture and politics. Sentiments are not spared: we see glimpses of his bride in white gliding by in recall, and him sitting by his mother reading Edgar Allen Poe's "A Fable of Silence" in reality.
"Throw a Stone in the Water" - finality is a beginning. I felt E.A.P's poetry in "Song," "Spirits of the Dead," and "Sonnet of Silence" conveyed Bahman's inner light. I'm appreciating the beauty of E.A.P.'s words.
Bahman, in a silent way, ingeniously took us through ordinary activities yet included a lot of content more than meets the eye. Three acts in 1 hr. 33 mins. filmically expressed. It does not do him justice to be quoted as "an Iranian Woody Allen" - the impact of just mentioning W.A.'s name may conjure up different notions in people's heads. Bahman Farmanara is his own artist, philosopher, filmmaker.
It is drama in three acts with touches of a documentary. Each has a repeated scene of Bahman sitting by the window on a moving train. The whole film resembles one being on a journey in tandem with what's going through one's mind (and heart - he really misses his beloved wife, and worries over his mother who has Alzheimer's).
"A Bad Day" - such directness in the title, you'd sense he's going to tell you like it is. It's a seemingly ordinary day to start with: he takes out a bouquet of flowers from the fridge, gets into his car, heads for the cemetery. On the way, he stops and gives a lift to a woman in black chador. Through the conversation between Bahman and the passenger, we learned about an aspect of a struggling Iranian family. Bahman the filmmaker, mature in his filmic experiences (in spite of 24 years lapsed without a film produced - this information we learn through his brief exchange with a stranger in an elevator), discloses many phases of Iranian living and politics through conversations. There's the exchange with the cemetery administrator; his visit to his lawyer's house; answering a call from a friend's wife in need. There are scenes without conversations - at times in silence without music - just our eyes following him with audible ambient sounds. These are poignant, subtle captures of what's going on within him, reacting to situations at hand.
We continue on to "The Funeral Arrangements." Bahman is researching for an Iranian funeral documentary for a Japanese TV production. We follow and eavesdrop on him: at the shop where they sell elaborate lighting installations for funerals or weddings; visiting a terminally ill artist who's delighted to be in the film experience; at a fellow artist's abode and his many cats Again, through conversational exchanges, including a subliminal TV broadcast we hear while Bahman dozes off on the couch, we are presented with facets of Iranian culture and politics. Sentiments are not spared: we see glimpses of his bride in white gliding by in recall, and him sitting by his mother reading Edgar Allen Poe's "A Fable of Silence" in reality.
"Throw a Stone in the Water" - finality is a beginning. I felt E.A.P's poetry in "Song," "Spirits of the Dead," and "Sonnet of Silence" conveyed Bahman's inner light. I'm appreciating the beauty of E.A.P.'s words.
Bahman, in a silent way, ingeniously took us through ordinary activities yet included a lot of content more than meets the eye. Three acts in 1 hr. 33 mins. filmically expressed. It does not do him justice to be quoted as "an Iranian Woody Allen" - the impact of just mentioning W.A.'s name may conjure up different notions in people's heads. Bahman Farmanara is his own artist, philosopher, filmmaker.
