The Great Iranian Director and screenwriter "Naaser Taghvaaee", has gone to a deliberate silence after his last movie, "Kaghaze bikhat". An artist with such a talent in creative storytelling, has surprised the local artist communities with this incredible movie. This time, he has chosen a family-political-drama and of course in a critical time. Using folklore tales and usual life of a normal Iranian family, Taghvaee shares with us the very social worries of himself and presents a real conceptual piece of art.
Smart references to recent political murders of that time, unknowing contributions of citizens to a dark regime, and above all, the breath-taking dark-comic drama between a couple made me watch it more than once in a day. The filmmaker knows exactly what he is doing, putting surprises and twists carefully in their professionally- plotted places.
Brilliant idea of Taghvaee naming his characters "Royaa" and "Jahaan" which mean "Dream" and "Universe" in Persian language, and the children "Shangool" and "Mangool" which mean "Foolishly Happy" and "Ignorant" (extracted from a local child tale apparently for fun, but it is a surprise when you see the same names at the end title!), suggest a relevant delicate symbolism.
"Royaa" who is a dreamer, defines her life within dreams, she's the type of person who just enjoys her illusions and does not get involved in the most important aspect of social life, the politics. On the other side, "Jahaan" the husband, is often like what "reality" looks like, mysterious, unpredictable and violent. Kids, the symbol of new generation, under the influence of their mother, are becoming exactly what their names mean, "ignorant and happy".
The technique and form is a little bit outdated, never the less perfect, comparing to the time and place it was made, but if you are interested in concepts and rationalism in cinema and contemplating the real social issues of our time, I do really suggest watching it.
Smart references to recent political murders of that time, unknowing contributions of citizens to a dark regime, and above all, the breath-taking dark-comic drama between a couple made me watch it more than once in a day. The filmmaker knows exactly what he is doing, putting surprises and twists carefully in their professionally- plotted places.
Brilliant idea of Taghvaee naming his characters "Royaa" and "Jahaan" which mean "Dream" and "Universe" in Persian language, and the children "Shangool" and "Mangool" which mean "Foolishly Happy" and "Ignorant" (extracted from a local child tale apparently for fun, but it is a surprise when you see the same names at the end title!), suggest a relevant delicate symbolism.
"Royaa" who is a dreamer, defines her life within dreams, she's the type of person who just enjoys her illusions and does not get involved in the most important aspect of social life, the politics. On the other side, "Jahaan" the husband, is often like what "reality" looks like, mysterious, unpredictable and violent. Kids, the symbol of new generation, under the influence of their mother, are becoming exactly what their names mean, "ignorant and happy".
The technique and form is a little bit outdated, never the less perfect, comparing to the time and place it was made, but if you are interested in concepts and rationalism in cinema and contemplating the real social issues of our time, I do really suggest watching it.