PAROLE
Iran, 2002, 96 minutes, Colour and black and white.
Directed by Mehdi Nourbaksh.
Parole is an art-house film (with festival written all over it). The film takes place over four days, a war-stricken man released on Tuesday and the film chronicling what happened to him until Saturday morning when he returns to the prison. He is a morose man, brought up in the prison. He meets his old cellmate, Uncle, who guides him around Teheran. He is bent on revenge. He discovers his sister who also helped to bring him up. She is in the drug trade. He also looks for his long-lost love and eventually finds her languishing. He also meets his old colleague, Sharif, and wants to kill him. However, he doesn't.
The film has aspects of realism but also aspects of existential angst.
The film is a mirror of the kind of Italian cinema of the early 1960s, the black and white photography, the symbolic characters, their wandering and searching as in the films of Michelangelo Antonioni.
While the young man is consistent in his behaviour but has to learn the realism of life, the uncle is a strange figure. At one time he is a petty criminal, master of all he encounters. At other times he reads very serious lectures to the young man.
In this way, the film is working at two levels - but it is often difficult to move from one level of realism to that of deep meaningfulness.
1. The impact of the film? The style of Italian cinema with its blend of neo-realism and existential angst? As a film of Iran at the beginning of the 21st century?
2. The style of the black and white photography, compositions, street scenes, focus on characters, close-ups? Cityscapes, the countryside, the snow-capped mountains? The musical score?
3. The dramatic impact of the film, on the level of realism with the film indicating in captions each morning and evening of the days of parole? The contrast with the symbolic wandering and searching of the characters as well as their verbal interactions?
4. The portrait of the young man, coming out of jail, unsmiling? The war experiences, the relationships with his stepsister, trying to make friends with her again, recapture the past memories? Her death? Relationship with Uncle, going on the town, the bars, pool, at home, watching the videos? The contrast with the serious talks? His going to the country, the village, finding his lost love, his grief? His sister-in-law dead and the consequences? Finding Sharif, the confrontation in the mountains? His possibilities of life, returning to jail?
5. Uncle, his exuberance, worldly-wise, on the streets, all his contacts? At the house, the video? Guiding the young man, the travels, the serious lectures?
6. The sister-in-law, the hardships of life, her explanations of herself, drugs, survival? Prostitution? Her death?
7. The young woman, hopes, pregnant, the man in jail, her languishing and death?
8. Sharif, age, experience, the confrontation in the mountains, his life being spared even though he asked for death?
9. The overall impact of this kind of existential dramatic and philosophical exploration?
