Reading the premise of director and ‘chief antagonist’ Mehran Tamadon’s film Iranian, you could be forgiven for expecting this film to be a fairly feisty affair.
But in a twist most wouldn’t see coming, while things occasionally get mildly warm (heated would be a step too far), for the most part the film consists of unexpectedly considered, civilised debate.
Tamadon sets out to ask answer the question ‘How can public space in Iran be shared by atheists like myself as well as by the religious, who have the monopoly of power?’
He spends years asking hardline Iranian mullahs to come and live with him for a few days and debate the idea of public space and whether people of differing religious or ideological backgrounds can share space through the spirit of compromise.
Finally he convinces four such religious figures to do just that and off they go to a house in the country, accompanied by wives and children who for the most part remain hidden in bedrooms off-camera while the men are left to sip tea and engage in the discussion, which includes topics like music, women’s clothing, politics and freedom.
While the discussion does get touchy at points, for the most part things are kept fairly civil and many of the jibes seem more like affectionate ribbing.
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the genuine interest the mullahs appear to take in Tamadon’s life in France – a completely secular one with his wife and children.
In the only scene that significantly features any women on camera, they appear completely captivated by footage of Tamadon’s son in a music class.
As expected, there are some bizarre proclamations from the mullahs that are ‘fact and proven by science’, such as the assertion that men are aroused faster than women and women must remained covered because men can’t control themselves and it makes them uncomfortable.
One of the slightly more disappointing aspects of this movie is that Tamadon sometimes seems unable to fully articulate the secular or atheist side of the argument. Christopher Hitchens he’s not!
It could be that the cause of this is not an inability, but caution in not pushing the mullahs too far, but it makes for some (at times) slow and uncomfortable watching and is hugely frustrating if you’re barracking for the secular team.
As you see in Iranian, Tamadon put himself and his family at serious risk to make the film, a follow-up to his doco about Iran’s paramilitary volunteer religious militia Bassidji from 2009, even being specifically warned off filming by the Iranian regime.
But it was worth it for this fascinating, frustrating and for the most part unguarded insight in a world that seems such a long way away, philosophically speaking.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Iranian
Directors: Mehran Tamadon
France, Switzerland, 2014, 105 min
Melbourne International Film Festival
www.miff.com.au
31 July – 17 August
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