Reply to Topic
About Elly - CONTAINS SPOILERS
This is the first Iranian film I've ever seen, and it did not disappoint. First, talk about suspense! I give it credit for keeping me on the edge of my seat from the seaside incident to the sad revelation of Elly's fate. It's also a breath of fresh air to see a movie do this simply through the power of writing and acting and that my special effect-addled brain took to the attempt. I also found it interesting how Elly's disappearance revealed the true situation amongst the friends, their spouses and their children. It's not such a good sign when everyone's first impulse is to lie and make excuses about what happened - oh, and how telling is it that the children were the least willing to go along with it - instead of being truthful and forthcoming. I also like how the movie is about Sepideh as much as it is about Elly without being obvious about it. From the most uncomfortable scene in the movie - Sepideh's confrontation with husband Amir - and the most bittersweet one - Elly's expressions of joy while playing with the kite - it's one of the most heartbreaking attempts of living vicariously through someone else I can remember seeing in a movie. Speaking of, I don't know how much freedom the Iranian government allows filmmakers, but I do know the country is one of the most patriarchal in the world and thus no doubt takes the institution of marriage seriously. Regardless of what Asghar Farhadi and company could get away with, credit goes to them for producing a movie, and such a good one, that's so critical of the institution and honest in depicting the consequences of when it goes badly.
Again, Iranian cinema had been one of my most glaring blind spots. Thanks to rauldc14 for the strong introduction.
This is the first Iranian film I've ever seen, and it did not disappoint. First, talk about suspense! I give it credit for keeping me on the edge of my seat from the seaside incident to the sad revelation of Elly's fate. It's also a breath of fresh air to see a movie do this simply through the power of writing and acting and that my special effect-addled brain took to the attempt. I also found it interesting how Elly's disappearance revealed the true situation amongst the friends, their spouses and their children. It's not such a good sign when everyone's first impulse is to lie and make excuses about what happened - oh, and how telling is it that the children were the least willing to go along with it - instead of being truthful and forthcoming. I also like how the movie is about Sepideh as much as it is about Elly without being obvious about it. From the most uncomfortable scene in the movie - Sepideh's confrontation with husband Amir - and the most bittersweet one - Elly's expressions of joy while playing with the kite - it's one of the most heartbreaking attempts of living vicariously through someone else I can remember seeing in a movie. Speaking of, I don't know how much freedom the Iranian government allows filmmakers, but I do know the country is one of the most patriarchal in the world and thus no doubt takes the institution of marriage seriously. Regardless of what Asghar Farhadi and company could get away with, credit goes to them for producing a movie, and such a good one, that's so critical of the institution and honest in depicting the consequences of when it goes badly.
Again, Iranian cinema had been one of my most glaring blind spots. Thanks to rauldc14 for the strong introduction.
Check out my podcast: 
