The Recess

"The Recess" with a social theme is a spectacular and admirable film. The story of the film is based on the story of the death of Sahar Khodayari, an Iranian girl who is very interested in football and has decided to enter Azadi Stadium with all the obstacles she faces. The story of the film takes place in a girls' school and takes place hours before Sahar's arrest. "The Recess" is a professional film and the actors in the film show good acting. "The Recess" leaves a deep sadness and regret in the audience and is a story about the lives of people who in the face of obstacles and borders, make changes in society through their actions.

"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.

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.

What a recess it was for the "Blue Girl", the one that lead her to death. The film "Recess" perfectly shows the purity of a dream which turned to be a crime that ruined a girl's life. This short minuts was the long long story of every day life of lots of girls in the Middle East, inequality, limits and fears. Thanks to Navid Nikkhah Azad and all his crews that present this tragedy in a perfect and atristic way.