Susan Granger’s review of “A Hero” (Amazon Studios)
Iran’s official Academy Award submission as Best International Film is “A Hero,” a drama/thriller by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation,” “A Salesman”), who sent critics (like me) a letter stating:
“Over the years, with the films I wrote and directed, I have always tried to create empathy between the audience and the characters on the screen; empathy, not only with one group of characters, but with both protagonists and antagonists. In ‘A Hero,’ I continue on the same path with a simple story that gradually turns into a complex situation.”
He goes on to add: “I believe empathy with characters puts the audience in an emotional state that causes them to make a fairer judgment about the characters and, hopefully, themselves.”
Set in the Iranian city of Shiraz, the film follows sign painter/calligrapher Rahim (Amir Jadidi), a divorced father imprisoned for debt, who is given a ‘furlough’ of 48 hours to convince his dour creditor, Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh) who runs a copying/printing store in a shopping mall, to drop the charges.
To consult with his brother-in-law Hossein (Alireza Jahandideh), Rahim climbs the scaffolding-covered Naqsh-e Rostam, a mountain necropolis containing the royal tombs of Persepolis, including the remains of Xerxes the Great.
A short time later, conscience-stricken Rahim decides to return a lady’s lost handbag containing 17 gold coins. His humanitarian gesture turns into a full-blown media event, catapulting him, his family and prison authorities into public scrutiny. It’s reflective of our contemporary ‘cancel culture’ – when somebody becomes famous for doing a good deed, others try to bring the hapless hero down.
The complex narrative explores universal themes of honesty, honor and the price of freedom by showing how half-truths and lies can erode the soul and exposing how insidious judgment by social media is increasingly prevalent.
In competition for the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, “A Hero” won the Grand Prix.
In Farsi with English subtitles/narration – on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Hero” is a subtly suspenseful 7, streaming on Amazon Prime.
