- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
-
3 out of 5
This sobering insight into life under Iran's Ahmadinejad regime calls to mind the violent protests that occurred during the country's 2009 elections, although the film's writer, director and star Rafi Pitts has denied they influenced his work. Distraught at the shooting of his wife and young daughter during a political demonstration, working man and ex-con Ali (Pitts) exacts random revenge on a passing police car outside Tehran. However, he then becomes the victim of a relentless manhunt in a nearby forest. Switching confidently from sombre neorealism to something akin to the art house style perfected by Joseph Losey in Figures in a Landscape (1970), Pitts ably conveys the bleakness of daily life and the accompanying mistrust of authority. But the conclusion to the showdown between Ali and the two cops hot on his trail is perhaps a touch too ironic, given the precision and restraint of the courageously critical action that precedes it.
Plot Summary
An Iranian security guard blames the authorities when his family goes missing, seemingly killed during a clash between police and protestors. He vents his anger by killing two random cops with a hunting rifle, then flees the city, taking refuge in a nearby forest, with two more officers on his trail. Thriller, directed by and starring Rafi Pitts. With Mitra Hajjar. In Persian.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Ali Alavi
- Rafi Pitts
- Sara Alavi, Ali's wife
- Mitra Hajjar
- Officer Nazem
- Ali Nicksaulat
- Director
- Hassan Ghalenoi
- Inspector
- Manoochehr Rahimi
- Young man in warehouse
- Ismail Amini
- Old night guard
- Nasser Madahi
- Young night guard
- Ali Mazinani
- Ali's father
- Ossta Shah-Tir
- Ali's mother
- Malak Khazai
- Ali's daughter
- Saba Yaghoobi
Crew
- Director
- Rafi Pitts
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