By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Starring: ayla Mohammadi | Bella Warda | Bijan Daneshmand | Kamand Shafieisabet | Niousha Noor
Year: 2023
Running time: 105
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24076146/reference/
Diane says: “This is my 6th film ‘at’ Sundance.
“A movie director writes a screenplay of her mother’s life, as she and her mother revisit their past conflicts. You’d need an awful lot of Tilda Swintons for this one, as each woman is portrayed at 3 different ages. Plus there are 7 (or is it 8? or 9?) sons/brothers.
“Iranian-American Maryam Keshavarz’s autobiographical story is told with exuberance, brilliant colors, and humor, as she delves into the anger between a mother and daughter who don’t realize how alike they are. This is an overstuffed story told messily, with about 75 million locations/sets and quite a bit of dancing. Keshavarz covers 4 decades in 2 countries (plus New Jersey!) in 107 minutes, so the editor really worked hard here. To give you an idea of the range: a pregnant woman stands at the edge of a well in a remote village in Iran, ready to drown herself; the other shoves a gorilla mask over her head in the aisle of a Brooklyn drugstore, to hide from her ex-girlfriend.
“Acting is great all round, particularly the youngest girls. The film is a timely celebration of Iranian women, who (it was said in the Q&A) have been fighting for their independence for centuries. 4 cats—just forgive some of the excess and go with the flow.”
The Persian Version