People don’t always get the chance to confront those who have seriously harmed them. Behavior that is unforgivable deserves to be condemned, but there’s a reason many legal systems declare innocence until guilt has been proven. The nature of a crime can be truly heinous and inspire rightful rage, but if the accused isn’t the one who committed the crime, another grave injustice will then be perpetrated. Jafar Panahi offers an exercise in the determination of guilt and the meting out of punishment in his latest film, which unravels in a riveting way as its characters act and only then begin to process the consequences of what they’ve done.
Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) is driving at night with his wife and daughter, and when he accidentally runs over and kills a dog, he is forced to stop to try to get the damage to his car repaired. When he walks inside as it is being fixed, the sound of his artificial leg immediately reminds Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), an employee, of the man who tortured him in prison. Vahid follows Eghbal, abducts him, and digs a grave in which to bury him. But when he denies being the man Vahid thinks he is, he has doubts, and enlists the help of others who also have horrific memories of their tormentor to identify him and make sure he really is the man who took so much from them.
This is a film that makes critical use of every single frame, following its characters as they forge ahead without a plan to figure out what to do with their captive. There are no cinematic flourishes or wasted moments, making this a captivating experience from which it’s impossible to look away. Though there’s always something happening, nothing proceeds at a quick pace, and it’s actually jarring how long Eghbal remains locked in a box in Vahid’s trunk while his captors deliberate about what they will do to him rather than confronting or killing him immediately. There’s little sense that this crew, even if they could agree on a plan, have any concept of how they might dispose of the body and cover it up to safely return to their lives.
In a film that features people recalling brutality they endured, it’s perhaps surprising to find a good deal of humor. Some of the visuals within it, like Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten), who doesn’t bother to take off or even try to protect her wedding dress as they drive across town, jumping in and out of the van with her equally well-dressed groom (Majid Panahi), are legitimately funny. The rocky relationship between photographer Shiva (Mariam Afshari) and the hotheaded Hamid ((Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) is catty and entertaining. This film reflects how, even if the most serious of situations, not everyone has it together and can still be prone to childish behavior and cracking jokes, regardless of whether they happen to be sitting right on top of a box with a man they’re maybe about to kill inside it.
Made explicitly without permission from the Iranian government, this film has a particular resonance because of Panahi’s own time spent in prison. Though its characters have a specific person to whom they can address their grievances, this film is a broader indictment of a vicious system which affects so many. That Vahid has never met any of the others who join him on this unpredictable misadventure but they’ve still been through the same thing is telling, especially because it’s serious enough for someone like Golrokh to pause a photo shoot the day before her wedding and become immersed back in past trauma.
This film is raw and riveting, told in a straightforward, visceral way. The ensemble is excellent, full of passion, rage, and the occasional lighthearted quip. Panahi continues to deliver extraordinary cinema dealing with current issues in Iran that feels urgent but not peachy, examining moral dilemmas without placing judgment on any of the characters. This film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is emphatic and hard to ignore, specific to a regime that is very much still hurting people but with a resounding messages for anyone watching about the nature of complicity, guilt, and forgiveness.
Movie Rating: 8/10
