By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Ahmad Mehranfar | Golshifteh Farahani | Mani Haghighi | Marila Zare’I | Peyman Moaadi | Rana Azadvar | Saber Abbar | Shahab Hosseini | Taraneh Alidoosti
Original language title: Darbareye Elly
Country: iran
Year: 2009
Running time: 119
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1360860/
Bruce says: “ABOUT ELLY is gathering laurels on more the one continent. Director Asghar Farhadi won directorial award at the Berlin Film Festival earlier in 2009 and the film recently won the Best Picture award at the Tribeca Film Festival. The appeal of ABOUT ELLY is difficult to explain in words but some comparisons might suffice. While I was watching this film my mind drifted to other ensemble pieces such as John Sayles’ groundbreaking RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN and Denis Archand’s masterful films, THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE and THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. The stories of those films are not at all similar but the ease with which the director moves from one person to the next and one scene to the next is seamless. Farhadi demonstrates a similarly amazing skill in ABOUT ELLY. Thematically ABOUT ELLY has been compared to Antonioni’s L’AVENTURRA, a film the director did not himself see until the editing of his film was completed.
“Three couples, three small children, and Ahmed – a male guest from Hamburg recently divorced from his German wife – plan a weekend at a villa in the country. Sepideh, one of the mothers, has invited her child’s nursery school teacher Elly along as a potential match for Ahmed. When they arrive in their SUV’s and sedans to pick up the keys they discover that the villa they want is available for only one night. The woman in charge suggests they take the villa by the sea which is available for three nights. There is just one problem. The villa is abandoned, is in great disrepair and requires some quick cleaning.
“Everyone pitches in. Things go smoothly for the first few hours. The group plays volleyball and charades. Elly is upset that her cellphone can’t get a signal. Ahmed takes her to the local village where cellphone users have better reception. Elly announces she is going back to the city. When she returns to the villa Elly helps two of the children fly a kite. The third is wading in the water supervised by one of the mothers who retreats into the house thinking Elly is watching all of the children. The seemingly innocuous gathering gradually becomes more sinister. As events take a turn for the worse, tempers flare and many half truths and white lies are uncovered.
“One of the children goes to the men for help. At first they do not understand that a child is missing, perhaps drowned at sea. Once the message is clear, all the adults leap into the water to rescue the child who has drifted far from shore and is barely alive. It is not until the emotionally charged event is over that everyone realizes Elly is now missing. Has she hitchhiked back to the city on her own? Is she, too, somewhere out in the sea? The group begins to recreate the events prior to the kite flying. Sepideh slowly reveals facts about Elly that she has neglected to mention to the others, facts which may be contributing to Elly’s departure.
“One thing is lacking in Farhadi’s film; the character development does not measure up to ABOUT ELLY’s many attributes. 4 cats
“(ABOUT ELLY screened at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.)”