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Leila's Brothers -
This Iranian drama about the juicy business of fighting a deeply entrenched system proves that it ain't easy. In other words, watching this fight is akin to witnessing a train wreck in slow motion. In turn, the movie provides a revealing window into how American policy affects other countries. After all, you rarely hear about the rest of the story in the nightly news.
Plot summaries mentioning Leila's plan, scheme, etc., make it sound illicit, but the genius here is that her plan, in theory, is one parents would be proud of their children for attempting: make a legitimate investment that could be fruitful for them and their grandchildren. Unfortunately for her and her brothers, it requires putting her hand in the pocket of the preceding generation, which is so used to a certain level of prestige and privilege that it has no qualms with enacting a certain Goya painting to maintain it. The movie could have just shown Leila's "friendly conversations" with her parents to reveal their avarice and I would still consider this movie great, but credit goes to writer/director Roustayi for going further and revealing why they are mortgaging their progeny's future. Is being a family's patriarch a great honor? It sure seems like one, but there do not appear to be any residual benefits if you know what I mean. On top of that, the movie has the guts to present the recipients of Esmail's payment for this reward tallying it and the other wedding gifts like drug dealers would tally cash in a crack den. As for how the movie shows how Iran bears the brunt of America's decisions, I like how it does this in ways both obvious and subtle. The obvious ways speak for themselves, with the highlights of the latter being all the American icons in the family's home from professional wrestling on the TV to the Mickey Mouse balloons at the birthday party. While the family may genuinely love the WWE, I appreciate the reminders that they must live with America in every which way and whether they like it or not.
I have seen three Iranian movies now, with this one also proving that special effects, CGI, etc., as much as I love several movies relying on them, are still not necessary for a movie to be great. In other words, movies where the acting and writing do the heavy lifting like this one can thankfully still stand out. The cast is uniformly great, but I am on board with Poursamimi being awarded for his work as Esmail because if it isn't obvious, the character really got under my skin. Alidoosti's more subtle work as the heart of the movie also deserves to be singled out, and speaking of Leila, despite the lack of special effects, it's not like the movie is dull visually. I mention her while saying this because I won't soon forget the moment where the camera follows her through the house before stopping at her emotional breakdown. The scenes in the factory with its seemingly hundreds of angry workers and the extravagant wedding also contribute to making this movie a feast for the eyes.
As Reverend Horton Heat's song "Generation Why" humorously indicates, generation gap drama has and likely always will exist. Even so, this movie ably demonstrates that this does not mean it's passé. I don't think it's being outlandish, melodramatic, what have you by arguing that the young and middle aged can only thrive via fraud, such as by collecting deposits on nonexistent cars, or that a father would jeopardize his children's futures out of spite. Again, with this movie, I am three for three when it comes to enjoying movies from Iran, which makes me ashamed I have slept on the country's cinema for so long. Sadly, in a case of art imitating life with the Iranian government not only banning this movie, but also arresting Roustayi, it may only be worthwhile to explore its past at this point.
This Iranian drama about the juicy business of fighting a deeply entrenched system proves that it ain't easy. In other words, watching this fight is akin to witnessing a train wreck in slow motion. In turn, the movie provides a revealing window into how American policy affects other countries. After all, you rarely hear about the rest of the story in the nightly news.
Plot summaries mentioning Leila's plan, scheme, etc., make it sound illicit, but the genius here is that her plan, in theory, is one parents would be proud of their children for attempting: make a legitimate investment that could be fruitful for them and their grandchildren. Unfortunately for her and her brothers, it requires putting her hand in the pocket of the preceding generation, which is so used to a certain level of prestige and privilege that it has no qualms with enacting a certain Goya painting to maintain it. The movie could have just shown Leila's "friendly conversations" with her parents to reveal their avarice and I would still consider this movie great, but credit goes to writer/director Roustayi for going further and revealing why they are mortgaging their progeny's future. Is being a family's patriarch a great honor? It sure seems like one, but there do not appear to be any residual benefits if you know what I mean. On top of that, the movie has the guts to present the recipients of Esmail's payment for this reward tallying it and the other wedding gifts like drug dealers would tally cash in a crack den. As for how the movie shows how Iran bears the brunt of America's decisions, I like how it does this in ways both obvious and subtle. The obvious ways speak for themselves, with the highlights of the latter being all the American icons in the family's home from professional wrestling on the TV to the Mickey Mouse balloons at the birthday party. While the family may genuinely love the WWE, I appreciate the reminders that they must live with America in every which way and whether they like it or not.
I have seen three Iranian movies now, with this one also proving that special effects, CGI, etc., as much as I love several movies relying on them, are still not necessary for a movie to be great. In other words, movies where the acting and writing do the heavy lifting like this one can thankfully still stand out. The cast is uniformly great, but I am on board with Poursamimi being awarded for his work as Esmail because if it isn't obvious, the character really got under my skin. Alidoosti's more subtle work as the heart of the movie also deserves to be singled out, and speaking of Leila, despite the lack of special effects, it's not like the movie is dull visually. I mention her while saying this because I won't soon forget the moment where the camera follows her through the house before stopping at her emotional breakdown. The scenes in the factory with its seemingly hundreds of angry workers and the extravagant wedding also contribute to making this movie a feast for the eyes.
As Reverend Horton Heat's song "Generation Why" humorously indicates, generation gap drama has and likely always will exist. Even so, this movie ably demonstrates that this does not mean it's passé. I don't think it's being outlandish, melodramatic, what have you by arguing that the young and middle aged can only thrive via fraud, such as by collecting deposits on nonexistent cars, or that a father would jeopardize his children's futures out of spite. Again, with this movie, I am three for three when it comes to enjoying movies from Iran, which makes me ashamed I have slept on the country's cinema for so long. Sadly, in a case of art imitating life with the Iranian government not only banning this movie, but also arresting Roustayi, it may only be worthwhile to explore its past at this point.