Holy Spider - 2022 - Iran

Holy Spider - 2022 - 7/10
AKA - Ankabut-e Moqaddas

 
The serial killer dubbed “the holy spider” has strangled ten at least.
Police are hunting, but – well – victims were only prostitutes after all.
He is happily married, a war hero, with a steady job.
Still, prostitutes, drugs, and decadence corrupting sacred Mashhad.
Someone ought to do something!
Intense, dark thriller based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei during 2000-2001.

About Elly - 2009 - Iran

About Elly - 2009 - 7/10
AKA - Darbareye Elly

 
Exasperating thriller from Iran might have you hurling items at your screen.
Some ten years after their college days, friends decide to weekend together at the Caspian Sea.
One of the guys is recently divorced, so a single woman is invited as marriage bait.
Pressure on her is immediate and uncomfortable.
Twenty minutes in, Elly (marriage bait), who has turned reluctant, disappears.
Kidnapped?  Walked away on her own?  Murdered?  Eaten by a bear?  Who knows.
Authorities arrive - questions - turns out none of the friends even know Elly’s last name.
The focus pinpoints on Sepideh, the wife who invited her.
Sepideh is a nest of white lies, deception, manipulation.
Because of the constant lying, where even explanations are untrustworthy, you want to scream.

Note to onlookers:  Opening credits show money going into an alms box, supposedly to grant safe travel.
Someone’s money gets stuck, foreshadowing later events.

Nun Va Goldoon - 1996 - Iran

Nun Va Goldoon - 1996 - 6/10
AKA - A Moment Of Innocence

Ex-policeman seeks out a film director, looking for work.
Twenty years previous, the director, then a student, had stabbed the policeman during a protest.
He decides to make a movie of that encounter.
Thing is, the officer has his own memories of the event … and who should play him.
The handsome candidate, of course!
As the narrative is filmed, the policeman realizes how much he misunderstood.
Warm cinema from Iran, except for all the snow which surprised ignorant me.
For those who enjoy stories within stories, of films from Iran, search this out.

The Salesman - 2016 - Iran

The Salesman - 2016 - 7/10
AKA - Forushande

Married actors must relocate after their apartment begins to physically collapse.
A fellow actor owns property and has an apartment that seems ideal.
The previous tenant departed earlier, though she has not taken her things.
The couple move in, deposit the woman’s belongings in the street.
Meanwhile, the actors try to mount "Death Of A Salesman," deal with Tehran censors.
To further complicate things, the previous woman had many visitors - who are unaware she no longer lives there.
Stress mounts in this layered film, making the experience uncomfortable for characters and viewers.
As in earlier films, such as About Elly, director Farhadi explores how people react to tension.
Hardly fun, but a riveting watch.

Taxi - 2015 - Iran

Taxi - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Taxi Tehran / تاکس

Director Jafar Panahi, still officially banned by Iranian censors, wheels the taxicab.
He also installs several cameras which catch what passengers have to say.
One hears confessions, odd beliefs in death, concerns about retribution.
Then there are those who recognize the director and ask for film recommendations.
When niece Hana shows, it’s like a whirlwind.
Proceedings are eye opening, often laugh out loud funny.
Difficult to tell what is impromptu, and what might be staged. He is on probation remember.
Films cannot depict “sordid realism.”
Wonderful guerrilla cinema!