the mutic drama of a young Iranian woman

THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – MUST SEE

Iranian cinema regularly sends us overwhelming news of the state of society, according to various and varied genres: the punchy (or snub) film made on the run in the style of Jafar Panahi (this is not a movie, Tehran Taxi), banned from touring since 2010, and for a period of twenty years, by the Iranian authorities; the ultra-scripted drama sparing all points of view, trademark of Asghar Farhadi (A separation, The customer); or even the invigorating tragedies of Mohammad Rasoulof (Manuscripts don’t burn, A man of integrity), etc.

In Forgiveness, in competition in Berlin in 2020, directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha shine a new facet with a drama close to abstraction, a quasi-silent film, progressing quietly towards an unknown destination: Mina, a young Iranian woman whose the husband was executed for a crime, tries to carry out his job as a factory worker and the education of his 7-year-old daughter simultaneously.

But one day, here she is summoned by justice: following a new testimony, the investigation reveals that her husband was in fact innocent. Death for nothing… Mina’s despondency is growing. The visit of a stranger (Alireza Sani Far), claiming to have known her husband, will shake up the life of the thirty-something widow. Who is this strange benefactor? If the scenario does not avoid the overflow of misfortunes, the mutic play of the actors makes it possible to leave the rails of the “melodrama”, installing a tension and a captivating strangeness.