CRIMSON GOLD A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Jafar Panahi's CRIMSON GOLD (TALAYE SORKH), a jury award winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival, is a strangely entrancing mystery that is more about the "why" than the "who" of a robbery and murder. A typically slow-paced Iranian film, it is as concerned with the minutia of modern Iranian life -- the ubiquitous police state, the suppression of women and the wide chasm between rich and poor -- as it is with the characters of the story. Light on the narrative, the movie drops us in as the robbery is in progress and then uses flashback to fill us in on the events leading up to the present.
A big lug named Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin) is the story's central and most enigmatic character. After he robs the jewelry store, he goes outside and looks like he might pass out. Throughout the story, it is never clear if he has some sort of mental problem like severe depression, if he is on drugs or if something else is going on. There is clearly some sort of thick mental fog between him and the rest of the world.
There are several intriguing subplots. In one, an old robber remarks, "If you want to arrest a thief, you'll have to arrest the world." He bemoans the lack of professionalism of his fellow criminals, giving the example of purse-snatchers who needlessly harass the older women whose purses they grab. He says that too many thieves drag the women along rather than making sure that the women turn loose of their purses.
One of the best scenes occurs outside a party of some wealthy Iranians. Hussein, working his night job as a pizza delivery man, is there to make a delivery. The police force him to stay. He can neither deliver the food nor leave. As each of the guests exit the party, they are arrested for unknown crimes, with the implication being that having fun is a priori illegal in a fundamentalist Islamic state such as Iran. But who exactly these police or security people are and what precisely is going to happen to the people being taken away is purposely left vague.
In the end, when we get back to the initial crime that started off the film, we have a somewhat better appreciation for Hussein and his troubles. But, what we don't know still overwhelms what we do know. Nevertheless, Hussein and his fellow countrymen have earned our sympathy.
CRIMSON GOLD runs 1:35. The film is in Farsi with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be PG-13 for some violence and would be acceptable for kids around 11 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, March 26, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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