Baran (2001)

Original Title

باران ‎‎ Hamsay-e khoda

Genre

Drama

Director

Majid Majidi

Country

Iran

Cast

Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji, Abbas Rahimi, Gholam Ali Bakhshi, Jafar Tawakoli

Storyline

In Iran, when the illegal Afghan worker Najaf (Gholam Ali Bakhshi) breaks his foot in an accident in a construction of a building, his fragile son Rahmat (Zahra Bahrami) becomes his replacement bringing his secret along.

Opinion

Months ago I read enough about "Baran" to make me want to see it, and although those were pretty good things, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. But what can I say, it is such a human, beautiful and touching film.

The story is unbelievable, in a good way. It is basically a love story set in a construction site, which is definitely a weird, unusual location for such a story to take place, but it works very well; it is well-developed, beautifully told, engaging and incredibly touching.

However, the story of forbidden love is just a facade. Majid Majidi uses it to address issues concerning immigration, refugees, illegal workers and the role of women in a society such as the Iranian, and through the character, he also makes a quite deep study of culture differences.

Other than being sensitive, touching, deep, thought-provoking and humorous, "Baran" is also a visual masterpiece. Every single shot is beautiful and able to deliver emotions. The photography also provides us, in a stunning way, the ugly side of Iran, Tehran in particular.

The cast is also worth of a mention. They aren't the most outstanding actors - I do believe most of them aren't even professional actors -, but they all look so authentic and natural, they give the film an even bigger feeling of reality.