Stills from A Hero
"About Eli"
"Fireworks Wednesday"
"A Parting"
The Salesman
"Beautiful City"
"A Hero" stills ◎ Mei Sheng
The narrative strategy of Iran's contemporary film master Asha Farhati, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year, is in line with his previous representative works: a story born out of the iranian reality context, although the starting point is simple, but with the emergence of dramatic suspense, the plot direction becomes intricate, and the protagonist stands at the intersection of morality or emotion, showing confusion and aggravation.
The Iranian dilemma in his lens, although given by the constraints of local religious traditions on the body and movement of the people, has resonated with audiences around the world, telling the similar living conditions of people of different races and beliefs. Compared with the old works, "A Hero" has added a social media background, the dramatic conflict is more butterfly effect, the elements are uncontrollable, and the confusion and powerlessness of the characters are further beyond the scope of Iran and apply to human society.
Everyday & Dramatic
After the Outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran became a theotheocratic state, and its social structure changed greatly. Artists' creative preferences are often determined by the combination of real environment and personal experience. In the face of the many holes in life and the stricter film censorship system, the world film master Abbas Kiarostami, who prides himself on being more like a poet than a director, poetically presents subtle events in a way that combines documentary and fiction in masterpieces such as "Where Is My Friend's Home" and "Born and Grows", allowing the audience to see that the ancient Persian civilization is still the light of Iran's current society. At the same time, with the help of works such as "Ru Mu Ai River" and "Legal Copy", he expanded the scope of the population of concern from Iranian children to adult men and women around the world, revealing the current situation of human existence as a whole.
The fusion of virtual and real cares for the land under one's feet, while reflecting the common situation of mankind, also runs through the creation of famous Iranian directors such as Mawson Makhmalbaf and JafaPanasi.
Compared with these predecessors, most of Farhati's films are also based on Iranian realist themes, exuding a real and moving light and universal value. However, because Farhati's undergraduate and master's degrees are both drama majors, he likes to adopt a theatrical approach with certain coincidences and bizarre colors, rather than a documentary-style "objective" perspective to reproduce daily life, through the display of Iran's traditional and modern coexistence environment, telling the dilemma of all levels of society, especially the urban middle class.
His films usually allow a character whose identity is somewhat special compared to other people in the film to lead the audience into a closed space like a theatrical stage in a way of accidental intervention, such as family residences, temples, prisons, etc., so that we outside the screen not only glimpse the events that arise from daily life, how to gradually get out of control in the space, but also gain insight into the deterioration of the social soil outside the space.
In "Fireworks Wednesday", the Iranian girl who comes from the bottom and is full of hopes for marriage, when doing domestic service in a middle-class family, in addition to realizing that there is an insurmountable class gap in front of her, she also witnesses the ruthless transformation of the family's appearance by extramarital affairs like an immersive drama. Stepping out of the broken home that seems to have nothing to do with her, the fireworks that release danger signals in the streets and alleys come into view, the society intuitively shows a fluctuating environment, and she is caught up in thinking about the direction of her future marriage.
Farhati's most extreme use of drama is his 2017 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "The Salesman."" In the film, Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", which runs through the form of a play-in-play, echoes the current social environment in Iran and the emotional ups and downs of a middle-class couple, YinMaid and Rena.
The film begins with workers setting up the stage for the show "Death of a Salesman." The flashing neon signs of the hotel on the scaffolding point to the daily destination of Willie, a salesman who has been traveling for years with the American dream. For him, the world of lights and greenery is more attractive than living at home. But the shaking of the scaffolding is also heralding the collapse of the American dream in the future, and Willie will not only lose the "gentle township" that the wind and dust woman created for him in the hotel, but also drift away from his wife at home.
The play tells the story of the former United States, how the roaring forward of the era train ruthlessly crushed the small people, the juxtaposition outside the play to tell the current Iran, the individual living space is also being ruthlessly destroyed. In this play, Yin Made and Rena, who play Willie and his wife, are awakened by a loud roar when they are asleep in the middle of the night, and the excavator downstairs is shaking the foundation of the building where they live. They did not show the slightest surprise at the sudden "visit" of the excavator, indicating that such things have long been common. The basic right to life of the middle class is still not guaranteed, and the living conditions of the bottom population can be seen.
With the loosening of the foundation, cracks also appeared in the walls of the two people's bedrooms, revealing the existence of a cold relationship between society and the family as the cornerstone of society. After the two move to their new accommodation, Rena, who is bathing, hears the doorbell ringing and thinks that her husband has returned to open the door without warning, and the strange man who breaks into the bathroom has abused her, and other dramatic moments have ensued, which gradually makes their emotions gradually move from intimacy to alienation.
Although there is no use for classic plays in "A Hero", the plot is also a dramatic pen and ink that can be seen everywhere. Razing, who was imprisoned for debt, used parole to go to a gold store with his girlfriend Falcon to sell a dozen gold coins she had accidentally found at the bank, thinking that she might be able to repay about half of the creditor's debt and let the creditors withdraw their lawsuit against him. When he found that the value of the gold coin was lower than expected, and the shopkeeper's signature pen could not write, he seemed to see the revelation of the Allah, took the gold coin to his sister's house, and the next day posted several notices near the bank to find the lost owner. Soon, a lady who claimed to be the owner of the gold coins took them from her sister. He was portrayed by the TV station as "a hero", and at the same time, he received help from charity and got a job offer.
However, rumors that the lady who lost the gold coin may not exist caused Racine's public image to begin to damage. He searched for the lady to no avail, and in order to get a job, He asked Falcond to pretend to be the owner, and things got out of control.
Scripture and lust
Farhati's previous works have been devoid of adherents to religious traditions. In 2011, he made a name for himself, winning the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and other awards in "A Parting", the female nurse faced with the toilet incontinence of Nader's father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, according to the teachings of the Quran, she could not touch the body of any adult man other than her husband, but from the standpoint of humanitarianism and the nursing profession, she should immediately help him clean his body. She called the religious society and was told that God would forgive her behavior before she set out to clean the old man.
Although there is no trace of the scriptures in "A Hero", the Nashlos Mausoleum that buries four Persian emperors, including Darius I, appears at the beginning of the film, which serves a function similar to the Quran, symbolizing Iran's deep-rooted traditions. Tradition is related to personal dignity, family face, social etiquette, good or bad, whether it is good or bad, the dedicated repair of the mausoleum by skilled workers, to this day, tradition still occupies an important place in the life of Iranians, affecting their actions.
Sister Racine is a faithful guardian of tradition. After she saw the gold coins, she asked Racine to swear in her mother's name, "Never do anything that disgraces you and your family." She feared that the gold coins had been stolen by Racine.
However, from the results, believers' adherence to traditional values does not seem to be worthwhile. The creditors in the film are honest and honest, and Racine was originally both a partner and a brother-in-law. When the two were in business together, he lost almost all of his belongings to help Racine. He sent Racine to prison because his life was in a quagmire. After Racine became "a hero", public opinion showed an indiscriminate face and "forced" him to forgive most of the debts Racine owed.
Perhaps because of this, most of the characters portrayed by Farhati belong to the deviations of tradition. In "A Parting," the husband of the caretaker not only lies by putting his hand on the Quran in order to get a large amount of compensation from Nader, but also asks his wife to disobey the will of the scriptures together. The vast majority of people in "A Hero", whether ordinary people or employees affiliated with administrative agencies, non-profit organizations, and service industries, are also far from the basic teachings of honesty, trustworthiness, and goodness taught by the scriptures.
Farcond was annoyed by Racine's move to return the gold coins, and the bank staff all showed a confused expression of "this guy is sick". The lady who took the gold coins was a counterfeiter who used her disguise to deceive Racine and her sister of their trust. Racine's ability to become "a hero" is the result of the prison chief's resolution of the prisoner's suicide storm. The charity that raised money for Racine also used him as a tool to promote the public interest image, using his son, who suffered from a language disorder, to win public sympathy. In the video of Racine beating up the creditors, netizens found that he and the "gold coin owner" were originally lovers, and the so-called truth they saw at the beginning began to condemn him, and did not think that the image with the subjective position of the photographer was one-sided.
The same is true of Racine himself. He decided to return the gold coin to its original owner, not because he really saw Allah was testing his soul, but because his sister's words had caused him great stimulation. He left the prison phone number on the notice instead of his sister's or his own mobile phone number, and it was more purposeful. He envisioned that this "good thing" would bring him worldly honor and personal benefits.
To explore the reasons why the words and deeds of these figures break the doctrine, in addition to considerations of self-interest, it is perhaps more crucial that certain traditional ideas constitute an invisible oppression of human nature. The long-range shot of the opening scene of "A Hero", the stark visual contrast between the towering mausoleum and the small Racine, says it all.
But rebelling against tradition does not mean abandoning faith. Farhati, like Abbas, believes that the living need faith. The source of providing faith is not the nihilistic Allah or the Father, but one's own heart.
In the film, Racine is witnessed by the taxi driver who deceives the taxi driver who passes by by by the lady who impersonates the gold coin, and willingly helps him to give perjury in order to let the young man have a way to live. Towards the end of the film, Racine, who has no way out, agrees to use his son's tears again at the suggestion of prison staff in exchange for the forgiveness and sympathy of the spectators, and to save the social reputation of his individual and family, but realizes that "performance" will bring lifelong psychological trauma to his son, and he shatters the plan that sounds perfect.
Racine initially wanted to be able to get out of prison and make himself a planner, but in the end he took the initiative to be an outcast, calmly walking into prison to continue serving his sentence, no longer caring whether the public's mood would be reversed, and whether the truth of the matter would be forever obscured. It is precisely because of his true faith in his heart that he has stepped out of the dilemma common in Farhati films.
Society and women
"A Hero" is related to Farhati's previous works, as well as his inquiry into the fate of Iranian women and his reflections on the mode of gender coexistence.
The women's movement has achieved remarkable results worldwide, but there is still a long way to go in countries such as Iran. In Farhati's films, although women's dress is not as strict as stipulated by the law, their humble status is difficult to have a voice, but it is an indisputable fact. In the context of a patriarchal society, Iranian men, including husbands, fathers, brothers, friends, etc., stand on the religious and moral high ground, because considering the face of individuals or families ignores the dignity of women and pushes them into embarrassing and even unbearable situations, which is one of the common themes in Farhati's films.
Yin Mader in "The Salesman" is ostensibly concerned about his wife after she is violently attacked by a strange man, but because she is jealous of her body, she is seen by the abuser and the male neighbor who rescued her, and deliberately maintains a physical distance from her. Despite Rena's repeated pleas to him to forget about it, he secretly investigates who the perpetrator is, tearing apart his wife's healing psychological wounds again and again. The father in "Beautiful City" who is bent on avenging the death of his daughter may be a qualified parent in the eyes of his deceased daughter, but he has a very indifferent attitude towards his stepdaughter who has a leg disability and needs to be treated in time, and his current wife who takes care of his diet and living.
In "A Hero", Farconde's brother, originally because of Racine's problems such as serving a prison sentence, divorce, and having children under his knees, vigorously opposed his sister to be with him, believing that it would seriously damage the dignity of the family. Seeing Racine's heroic deeds in the newspaper, he agreed to a relationship between the two. When he learns that things have taken a big turn for Racine, he is furious with his sister. In the process, he never took Falconde's feelings seriously, did not care at all that she regarded Racine as the only true love, and always cared about the evaluation of society.
Faced with the social barriers represented by marriage, what can Iranian women do except passively accept the arrangement of fate? Farhati's answer is that even if you have to pay a heavy price, you must take the initiative to try to break through. Yi Li, who is to be married in "About Yi Li", escapes the oppression that future marriage may bring to her in a mysterious way. The married women in "Beautiful City", "Fireworks Wednesday" and "A Parting" have all chosen to divorce, among which the purpose of Westminster's divorce in "A Parting" is not only for herself, but also to be able to leave Iran and let her daughter have a new environment for growth.
But just as Farhati, though he questioned religion, believed in the power of faith, he did not deny marriage and family altogether. Although the employer's marriage farce in "Fireworks Wednesday" makes the girl worry about her future, her boyfriend's behavior of standing on the street late at night blowing cold wind to take her home makes her smile and regain confidence in their marriage. The woman in "Beautiful City" who despairs of her husband sees the beautiful qualities of the opposite sex in the strange boy who broke into her life.
Obviously, in Farhati's view, the women's movement cannot rely only on the awakening of female subject consciousness and the actions of women themselves, and it is also important for men to stand up. Although the change in the social atmosphere determined by the national consciousness, religious laws, traditional customs, etc., requires the joint efforts of groups to be completed step by step, within the family as the basic unit of society, men can at least put away machismo and give women the respect they deserve. Only when the relationship between the sexes within the family is improved can society have the hope of improvement.
Back to A Hero. Whether Racine was in good times or bad, Falconde stood firmly with him. The scene in which she and Racine's son send him back to prison, side-writing her determination to form a family of three with the two, makes the audience both sad and moved. At the end, when Racine sits in the dark waiting for the prison formalities, he sees the old man who is released from prison and the wife who picks him up happily reunited in the sun, which makes the audience foresee his future with Falconde.
These brushstrokes include Farhati's tribute to ordinary people who hold fast to their inner beliefs, as well as his expectations for gender relations and even the prospects of society. At the same time, they exude Farhati's kindness and tenderness to this strifeed world as an artist, just like his films, although they can be seen everywhere dramatically, but for those dramatic scenes that stimulate the eye, such as the process of Rena being violently invaded in "The Salesman", how Racine is abused by the Internet in "A Hero", etc., they are not directly shown, but are left blank.