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.
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