political

1

Closed Curtain

Closed Curtain Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

“You think you can capture reality in here?”

Closed Curtain stands up for Iranian activists. To understand this film, you have to know a little a bit about the director, Jafar Panahi. After making a number of critically acclaimed films, Panahi was placed under house arrest after being charged with producing propaganda against the Iranian government. What was his reaction? To keep making films under house arrest and having them smuggled out of the country. So here’s Closed Curtain, the second film released under house arrest.

Why Watch Closed Curtain?
  • To experience house arrest (this was the second film Panahi directed under house arrest)
  • See a double decker tea-pot
  • For a great film from one of Iran’s top directors (check out The Circle or Taxi Tehran for another great film from Panahi)
  • Learn about some more of the different laws in Iran (See Divorce: Iranian Style)
The Breakdown

Through a closed gate we can see a barren beach outside of a house. A car stops on the road by the beach and a man gets out, collects a few bags, and walks slowly to the house. The man enters the house and the camera cuts to show him. Inside the house, the camera is free. The man opens his bag to reveal his pet dog. He quickly attaches dark curtains to all of the windows in the house to block out the light.

It isn’t clear from the start what is going on. The man who releases his dog into the house seems a bit crazy as he frantically covers every opening to the world outside. However, just like the woman who runs into the house 20 minutes into the movie, he is victimised by some strange laws. The TV shows us that the man is hiding his dog from death after the state has declared all dogs as unclean animals. The woman appears in the house after she is persecuted for partying on the beach. Just like the director, they have all ended up under house arrest for unjust reasons.

To make us feel under house arrest, Panahi carefully confines the camera  within the house.  From the start, when we see the man with the dog arrive outside the house, the camera is fixed behind the house borders. People enter and leave the house, but we only see them from the behind the house window. Through this, Panahi captures the isolation felt under house arrest as well as the limits of his artistic creativity.

Conclusion

Closed Curtain is a clever and unique way of portraying Iran. Panahi depicts Iran’s limitations through the limitations of house arrest. However, whilst the film is clever and unique, it is not Panahi’s, or Iran’s most accessible film. This is for the more experienced art-house film viewer. Therefore save this one until you’ve watched a few films with lower Film Difficulty Ranking’s before attempting this one! For another Iranian film, try Under The Shadow!

2

Too Early, Too Late – Documenting the Land of Two Countries

Too Early, Too Late

Too Early, Too Late Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

Too Early, Too Late isn’t your typical documentary. Instead of following a person, animal, or political movement, it documents the landscape through a series of long sweeping shots of fields, land, and people. If you’re a people watcher, or someone who likes to sit on a park bench and contemplate the view, you’ll enjoy Too Early, Too Late. It requires patience, an open mind, and some open ears.

From: France, Egypt, Europe, Africa
Watch: YouTube, Rent on Amazon
Next: Playtime, Peace, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
Read The Full Review
3

Asmaa (Egypt)

Asmaa Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Can you imagine a place where TV adverts about HIV/AIDS show scary images of bats, blood, drugs, and prostitutes? Well, you don’t have to. Egypt actually showed these adverts. In Asmaa director Amr Salama challenges the social prejudice towards HIV/AIDS suffers. Watch this film to learn about the limitations of being a HIV/AIDS patient and a woman in Egypt.

Why Watch Asmaa?
  • Follow the life of a woman with HIV battling against social prejudice in Egypt
  • Watch the film here on YouTube to start your adventure into Egyptian film
  • Experience a bit of life in Cairo and the country surrounding the capital
The Breakdown

First of all, it is important to know that there is a bit social stigma around the HIV positive in Egypt. The director, Amr Salama, states:

“In Egypt we think it’s a punishment from God and we should not treat it. We think that they get it from a sin so they deserve it, and we think it’s very contagious so we don’t deal with them in any way. So people die from that more than they die from anything else. “

Asmaa starts in a small HIV group, a bit like an alcoholics anonymous group. The director cuts between the group talking and scenes in a hospital. We find out that our protagonist Asmaa has HIV and was denied hospital treatment because of it.

Asmaa is a do it all mother. She looks after her father, her daughter, whilst working shifts at the airport. Through flash backs to her former life, we learn how she caught HIV and her former dreams. Her flashbacks are shown in golden colours which contrast with the dreary blue and grey filter that depicts her current life and her visits to the hospital. It is obvious she wishes to recapture the dreams of her early life with her former husband.

Conclusion

Asmaa is an important tale based on the true stories of many HIV/AIDS suffers that Salama met when filming a documentary before he filmed Asmaa. The film reveals the plight of women in Egypt as well as the social prejudice against HIV/AIDS patients. It challenges the controversial portrayal of HIV/AIDS in Egypt by putting you in the shoes of a strong woman coping with the disease.