Tahmineh Milani, who is one of the foremost women directors in Iran, has established a reputation as a feminist film maker. Films like Two Women and Hidden Half have tried to show the difficulties faced by women in today's Iran. For her new film, Cease Fire, however, Milani has changed her style from serious melodrama to light comedy and, in doing so, has struck box office gold. Cease Fire was a major hit in Iran and I think the clue to this success can be found in any bookshop in Tehran. There, you will find that the best selling books are of the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus variety. What Milani has done is to take a serious psychoanalytical book and adapt it as a comedy for the screen, a la Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex. A couple (Golzar & Afshar) who have been bickering & fighting from day one, are contemplating divorce until by chance they both end up visiting a therapist (Pesiani) who dishes them the secrets of a good relationship. Various episodes from the couple's married life are represented as flashbacks in a lighthearted manner. The inclusion of two popular and good looking leads (Golzar & Afshar)also helped propel Cease Fire to the kind of success which frankly this film does not deserve. It is mildly funny and diverting but a real let down from a director of Milani's caliber. Let's hope that Cease Fire's success will not detract Milani from pursuing serious subjects in a manner which befits them.
