Reel Critics

Silber and Silber

This is a sweet and culturally interesting Iranian film directed by

Majid Majidi.

The story takes place on a construction site in Iran where Both

Iranian and Afghanistan refugees work. When a young Afghani boy is given

the cooking and serving job held by an Iranian young man, resentment and

anger follow.

We watch this seething character discover a secret about his

replacement, which changes him forever. The growth and transformation

within this character is the focus of the film and is fascinating to

watch. Without giving away the secret, it is difficult to elaborate more

on this inner change.

In addition to the story of the personal relationship between these

two, the backdrop of life for the refugees from Afghanistan (under the

Taliban regime) living in camps inside Iran is important to see. The

cultural differences and similarities of the two, and the restrictions on

the relationship placed by strict adherence to fundamental Islamic

doctrine and tradition are fascinating.

The photography is beautifully done. This is a simple and subtle film

-- one that is visually and emotionally rewarding. There are English

subtitles. It is well worth seeing.

There has been a blossoming of film making in Iran in the last 10

years. The Makhmalbaf family and their Film House is the primary example.

The American Film Institute and the National Gallery of Art are jointly

sponsoring a special film festival on The House of Makhmalbaf -- now

running in Washington, D.C.

Although Baran is not from this creative family, it is another fine

example of the new films out of Iran.

* Diane and Igal Silber, are Laguna Beach-based film buffs.

We’d like to con you into seeing this story

Out of Argentina, with English subtitles, “Nine Queens” grabs you and

doesn’t let go.

Don’t even look away from the screen (let alone a bathroom break) or

you’ll be lost. If you liked David Mamet’s “Spanish Prisoner” and “House

of Cards,” you will love this film. Fast-paced, intricate and clever with

wonderful performances all around.

This, of course, is a story of a scam by a scam artist on a scam

artist. Who’s conning whom? Who is working with whom?

Can you even trust the story line to make sense? It finally does,

although it took 20 minutes of post-movie discussion between us to get

all the parts in place. This is one mark of a great film.

Watching professional con men working each other is fascinating,

especially when the acting is so good. This is the big con -- the one

that counts and puts everything on the line. The large ensemble cast is

superb.

Rocardo Darin as the older experienced thief-mentor, Tomas Fonzi

playing the younger, more innocent-looking protege, and Leticia Bredice,

are the leads and couldn’t have been better. The vision of the director,

Fabian Bielinsky, is fully realized with a mesmerizing script filmed

beautifully.

Need we say more? See this film.

* Diane and Igal Silber, and Laguna Beach-based film buffs.