Les nuits de Mashhad

I congratulate the people involved in making this extremely valuable movie. Cinematic works related to Iran that are made outside of Iran without the support of the Iranian government often follow one of these two paths. Either their film is a film with formal games and a bad story (such as Women Without Men and Rhinoceros) or a film that is not refined, which is deliberately produced for an audience in a small geographical area (like almost all films that focus on Iran environment or character) The brightness of the holy spider requires another space to write but I would like to express my sincere thanks to the creators of this work for not stepping in either of those two paths.

A killer trawls the streets of Mashhad City, shows no remorse, regret or shame, there is no pity, for the women that he kills, I'm sure he gets plenty of thrills, as a self-appointed one man vigilante. A journalist begins investigations, in a culture that's built on male foundations, but she's persistent and quite brave, to stop the girls going to graves, and to suffer prejudice, of generations.

It's a brutal depiction of events, as a disgruntled, discontented and disturbed psychopath decides to take the lives of several women who have been left with no choice but to sell themselves on the streets to survive (or not as it turns out). I thought Zar Amir-Ebrahimi was brilliant as the stubborn and relentless journalist who tenaciously puts her own life in peril to track the killer down.

The events that inspired this story made international news. I suspect some of what is on the screen actually happened.

A serial killer is strangling the junkies who work as prostitutes in the holy city. This is controversial, inducing terror and mistrust. No one wants to be killed or suspected, though some openly praise this illegal activity. A very determined journalist comes to town to investigate. We accompany the journalist and meet many characters whose words and actions inform us about the situation. We also learn pretty quickly exactly who is doing the killing by closely following along for some shocking incidents. Who and how is revealed, along with an uncomfortable social context. Much of the movie is an intimate visit with the journalist and the killer whose activities are being investigated, and the suspense increases. After a while the audience is led to suspect that the civil and clerical authorities might be okay with wholesale murder, under certain circumstances, and the journalist will not stop, taking crazy chances.

The artistry is first class throughout. The way all of this is presented makes us feel closer to every character, so we can better consider how we are the same or different, in our social context. Dangerously determined journalist versus homicidal maniac has been done before but this movie is exceptionally good and most entertaining.

I watched this film yesterday on the Golden Apricot film festival and its rating of 6.6 makes little sense to me.

It is a crafty film that takes you on a suspenseful trip with moments of well-placed humor.

The Iranian setting is somewhat overdramatized, but I believe that works for the film, rather than against it.

The important note here is that the true Spider Killer received very little to no support from the Iranian society.

The overall setting is somber, it is relatively violent, there is a lot of room given for the personal development of our characters, there is social criticism, great acting, and powerful sound design.

My only criticism is that secondary characters could have given more screen-time to act out their emotional curve, as there performances were really strong.

I strongly recommend this to anyone that loves European film and/or true crime pieces.

Easily an eight!

Based on a true story of Saeed hanaei,a man who killed 16 sex workers in iran,and branded as a super hero... Though being cruel and shocking,surprisingly reaches to a tight & tense situation of what's happening in iran currently & high society conservatives influencing the monster and symbolising them as saviour of sin indulging in heroic act... Zar Amir ibrahami upholds the movie with her strong morality breaking the stereotypes of women's life in iran...she was honoured with best actress award at the Cannes too... Mehdi bajestani delivers quitely & deadly at times,his body language sends some spine chilling unsettling moments that's hard to beat out... Overall a genuine piece of cinema...