A Hero

A rich, complex human drama that seems to interrogate every idiom associated with good deeds - from “a good deed is its own reward” to “no good deed goes unpunished” - by putting each of them through the ringer. Just really compelling stuff.

Such a story, one mostly devoid of dramatic momentum, didn’t necessitate a 125 minutes cinematic treatment. Aside from the very last shot, there’s little originality, let alone excitement to be found in terms of genre or technique, at least when compared to his Iranian colleagues such as Panahi or the great Kiarostami. There’s just nothing interesting about watching a litany of characters converse and shout for 2 hours in plain shot-reverse-shots.

Farhadi did it again !

A nuanced examination of publicity and reputation, of motivations for good deeds and the dangers of (dis)honesty. A strikingly frank dissection of modern morality in all its perfect shades of gray.

If Rahim didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have no luck at all! I really enjoyed this story. Everybody trying to do the right thing but conflicting priorities stir up the stupid, chaotic bollocks of everyday life. We're all clueless idiots doing what we think we're supposed to, but the ant-hill somehow works.