El Recreo

As an Iranian female audience of the short film "The Recess" directed by Navid Nikkhah Azad, I can say that "Blue Girl" is the example of an Iranian woman who is caught between the norms and abnormalities of the society which are imposed on her by culture,society, family or even her friends. This can be found repeatedly in everyday life of Iranian women, and reminds us to move on and to go forward in the direction of the the voice of our destiny. The Iranian society should also get past this and welcomes "Blue Girl"s of its own land. Personally, I enjoyed watching this "The Recess" and I thank the director for it.

"The Recess" fits into a perfect short film, second-to-none. The director's effort to take the film near reality is very much commendable. Iranian cinema always plays a significant role in cinema on a global scale. "The Recess" is inspired by a true story which touched the whole world. It embraces womanhood. The tragic self-immolation of the Iranian Sahar Khodayari 'Blue Girl' was furious. Director Navid Nikkhah Azad develops the narrative in a subtle way. The setting of the story is masterfully depicted. The dialogues suggests the hard challenges and difficult choices that women face in everyday life in Iran. To cut the long story short, the film is masterfully-made and the actresses give superb performances.

"The Recess" is a short film of high value that gives the audience a good understanding of a tragic story based on true events; a true story with a missing point of beginning, a story no one knows the real facts behind it.

The movie puts emphasis and stress on the smallest details of a sensitive situation. The dialogues between the four students (Sahar, Aida, Tahoora and Sara) are perfectly written, which is unparalleled among Iranian short films, for being so realistic.

Director Navid Nikkhah Azad intentionally does not show the real tragedy which happened after school, and this makes the audience not to lose the image of the tragic self-immolation of Sahar Khodayari (Blue Girl) even for a single moment.

Even those who have never heard of the tragic incident, can perfectly understand the movie and sympathize with the main character. The viewer is presented with texts explaining that Sahar Khodayari was caught, and later on, a possible sentence of six months in prison awaited her and to protest her sentence, she self-immolated until she eventually died from her injuries.

"The Recess" is a short film inspired by a bitter tragedy happened to the main character, and based on an unfair law written for women in Iran. The film has a brilliant opening, and a believable ending. The ending could be more touching, though. One can sympathize with the main character. Each moment of "The Recess" challenges the audience more. To cut the long story short, the film has the potential to develop into a narrative feature film.

This movie was one of the best films I have ever seen, especially as a women it was very understandable for me. And of course, choosing the name of the movie was one of the intellectual and best names that could be chosen. I think everyone "must" see "The Recess".