Banoo-Ye Ordibehesht (1998)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Rakhshan Bani Etemad

Writer:

Rakhshan Bani Etemad (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Forough Farrokhzad

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Golah Adineh
Minoo Farshchi
Mani Kasraian
Baran Kosari
Atefeh Razavi

Also Known As:

The May Lady (USA)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Color:

Color

Trivia:

In order to make this film, the director had to receive government approval. She gave one script up for review, got approval, and filmed another script.

A divorced mother's conflicted choices

The protagonist, a professional film maker and divorced mother of an older teenaged son must decide between seemingly incompatible options: her own need for adult love and companionship and her son's fear of losing his mother's love.

Gathering filmed interviews with a wide range of Iranian women affected by numerous restrictions in an extremely patriarchal culture, the mother ponders the choices between which she finds herself deeply ambivalent. Will she be allow guilt and her son's desire to be "the man of the house" determine her course?

Told from the mother's POV, we slowly discover the reasons why each of the characters are drawn as strongly as they are. And we don't know until the final moments just how the story will be resolved. I found this tension especially satisfying. Each has strong and legitimate reasons to fear the inevitable change which must occur between them if mother decides to prioritize her own needs.

The absence of a sound track strengthened the story's impact, making this viewer at least feel very much as if I was looking directly into an unfolding family drama. Very strong emotions, somewhat like a two-character telenovela shown here!