Tangsir

Given how highly rated this film is, and that it is available on Youtube, it's strange that no one has written a review for it yet, so I'll try.

Based on Sadeq Chubak's first novel (a collection of stories with a common theme of fighting injustice), it's a straightforward tale of revenge. Zar Muhammad, a worker from the coastal area Tangestan with a belligerent past, has been swindled out of his savings by four local businessmen. After dismissing his repeated requests to reimburse him, he embarks on a violent crusade that makes up about three quarters of the film.

Compared to Western vengeance film of the era, there is not much characterization apart from the lead, and the action is as brutal as it seems inevitable. Once the protagonist has made up his mind to avenge his honor by murder, he sets on his course without any moral obstacles, increasingly supported by the public. In a fairly obvious jab at the Shah's regime, he calls for common resistance against corrupt authorities, inciting a full-blown riot. Refusing capture, he swims out into the sea in the end, and it is unclear if he survives or not.

None of this sounds very original, but the way Naderi helmed it is quite interesting. The lead Behruz Vosoughi is a tower of a man, reduced at first by his social status, but then emerging as a true force of nature raining down on his offenders. The action is hardly stylized and very well sequenced. While referencing hard-boiled American action of the time, it has a distinct local feel which elevates it over most vengeance films, and that may explain its ongoing popularity.