Jang-e jahani sevom

The opening quote that explains the film is attributed to Mark Twain: "History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes."

This winner of Best Film and Best Actor awards at the Venice film festival's Horizon section, and the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International film festival has bagged 13 awards world-wide to-date. It is an unusual film from Iran; yet, if you stay to the end, it could be rewarding. It is a film about love of a widower for a prostitute in Iran. How the conservative Iranian censors allowed the film with such a subject to be made is surprising. The script involves the shooting of a film within the film that deals with Hitler and the Holocaust (again an unusual subject for an Iranian to make in Iran)!

Is this movie about Hitler? Is it about World War? Is it about people from the lower class of society? The answer to these questions is negative. This movie is about people. All the people we see in life and we are one of them. But what changes the course of our life and our behavior with life and people are the conditions that are imposed on us. We can be simple and ordinary people that life conditions and people can make us a terrible dictator. What we see in this movie. The main character of the film is a calm and harmless person. But a few things change him. People, society and daily life events. Does the director want to say that Hitler became a brutal dictator because of the conditions imposed on him? The answer to this question is not very clear. But by creating this challenge, the director shows the impact of human relationships and living conditions on people. I gave this movie an 8 and I think that if the scenes related to the movie about Hitler were made more professionally, this movie would definitely have a better chance of success.

Although I love Iranian movies, I have to admit that I am not impressed. It lasts too long and in every minute you can't see any shiny sparkle. Even though the main actor is good, the story is a bit weak. I know, it is the story of a poor middle-aged man who struggles to survive poverty and who loses hope to live blaming all around, even those who are giving him a chance, but it should be packed in less time. The only thing which can help in seeing the entire film project is its cinematography. After watching it you will have a bitter taste and the thought that you watched someone's misfortune, and in any case you didn't want to watch it.

Seen this movie today at the Stockholm's film festival and I was amazed by the number of layers in the story.

The film is so absurd, complex and simple at the same time. It's very hard to describe. It's a roller coaster of emotions. Like you watch cartoons, a horror movie, then a drama with pauses to give time for reflection.

Describes the struggle of the characters in an absurd world that is becoming even more absurd mainly because people act erratic. Nobody is safe from madness and everyone is culpable, but the more people sin the harder it is for them to admit mistakes.

Go see this movie if you are a person that is more interested in depth than Hollywood.

Houman Seyyedi has found his own genre. It's as if Houman Seyyedi's signature is at the bottom of the film, even if his name is not in the credits as the director and producer and writer and editor of this film. The brilliant performance of Mohsen Tanabandeh in this film cannot be easily overlooked. The simple story of the film moves slowly, but it reaches the climax and attracts the audience and leaves the audience speechless like the female character of the film. You can see how a character can sink into the role he is playing and how a dictator can devour his actor in this movie. In general, it can be said that this movie is attractive and has a different place among the recent movies of Iranian cinema.