(Jafar Panahi/1995/Iran)
Through the observation of a young
girl in Tehran attempting to persuade her mother to buy a better goldfish for
the New Year celebrations, an Iranian tradition called haft seen involving a
table display at New Year with the fish symbolising life, Jafar Panahi presents
an incisive and light hearted look at Iranian society in the mid 90’s. But the
wider social context is not the focus of the film; it’s a very welcome by
product of the narrative but the weight of the mission of seven year old Razieh
to keep hold of her money and get to the shop in time to buy a fish slowly
increases as the film progresses. Panahi manages to build a dramatic tension
from the simplest of premises and the plight of the children attempting to
retrieve the money from a gulley becomes almost nail biting. It is a brilliant
portrayal of how small events can be so enormous in the lives of children
amidst the hustle and bustle of the grown up world. It’s a great debut with a
great script from Abbas Kiarostami.
(3.5/5)
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