☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½
About
Elly (2009) – A. Farhadi
The Iranian cinema (that we get to see
in the West) has been so astonishing for so long that it feels incredible to
find a new Master in Asghar Farhadi (Oscar winner for A Separation).
Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf, and Panahi (among others) have managed to incorporate
another level to many of their films that asks the viewer to question what she
or he is seeing (reality or artifice? truth or fiction?) and that same vein is
mined to great effect in About Elly.
Farhadi shows us a group of married friends (with children) from Tehran
who decide to visit the Caspian seaside for the weekend. One of them, Sepideh (played warmly by
Golshifteh Farahani), surprises them by bringing along her daughter’s single
teacher, Elly, to meet their recently divorced friend Ahmad visiting from
Germany. The lies begin when the holiday
villa they were supposed to have booked turns out to be unavailable – and they
continue as members of the group routinely keep things from each other (a
natural state of affairs) or join in the charade. A “L’Avventura” styled plot twist opens up
even more questions and mysteries descend on the group. Farhadi does an excellent job of maintaining
a high level of tension (almost too high!) and orchestrating a large number of
actors, all in the dark, as the film tilts this way and that in search of a
resolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment