Zalava

A beautiful Iranian film capable of showing what is not there and creating tension with a simple glass jar. Difficult, once seen, to forget it. In a village in Kurdistan, just before the revolution, a young sceptical sergeant fights against the irrational beliefs of the local population. They believe that demons (the jinn of the Islamic religion) exist and take possession of men and women. In this case they have to be shot in the legs to draw out the blood and with it the demon. The sergeant tries to convince them that this does not exist, but the arrival of an exorcist (who in the eyes of the sergeant seems nothing more than a vulgar charlatan) sets the stage for an impending tragedy. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent pace, solid tension and a sharp reflection on the unhealthy power of faith and autosuggestion and how little reason can do in the face of these destructive forces. Not to be missed.

.... namely non-Persians....: this movie threads its politics and nationalism very carefully. With a potential loss for the depth and intensity of the story, it does not engage Islam in any way too. The exorcist seems to have never heard of Quran: pretty surprising when compared to the ubiquitous Christian theme of priests-exorcists.

This well-written story, starting from the total denial of the demonic, slowly takes more pro-demon stance (but never decisively) by engaging the love of the main character, a gendarmerie sergeant, for a local doctor, who is a reluctant demon believer (of the kind: it does not harm to believe). Once more, Eve (Malilah) leads Adam (Massoud) astray.

In its approach to ghosts/demons, the movie reminded me about "Benedetta" by Paul Verhoeven: both films leave open the question whether demons exist or not.

This movie was made in 2021. Fear is always associated with strange things and intangible events and issues. Fear of the beyond or things that cannot be seen and touched is one of the greatest experiences of fear for humans. Fear of things like demons or devils or things like that, which cinema has always benefited from and had good sales. Zalawa is also a kind of contrast between wisdom and ignorance. A fear that may come from ignorance and an intellect that is alone and must stand in front of an ignorant crowd. Zalava has good actors, but it is an ordinary film and nothing more. In fact, it cannot be said that Zalava is an attractive film, but the acting of the actors is acceptable and may bring the audience along.

There was a time when saying "Iranian cinema" meant Abbas Kiarostami's films and the countless movies with children as protagonists. I, at least, was left with that impression and that is why it was totally unexpected to find this drama about exorcism, set in the village of Zalava in the Iranian region of Kurdistan, where gypsies migrated in the 19th century, learned the customs of the region and brought with them fears that manifested themselves as demons.

The film takes place in 1978. A young sergeant is dismissed from his post in the Zalava gendarmerie, when a possessed girl (by a demon or an ancestral fear...) dies accidentally. His father was unable to do what the "exorcist protocol" required, that is, shoot her in the leg, because the sergeant confiscated the rifles with which the inhabitants were also hunting illegally. On the verge of leaving the station, the sergeant decides to stay in Zalava to solve the new case of a demon in the town.

«Zalava» is too subtle and elegant for the public that loves stuff like «The Substance.» The script and direction skillfully move between fright and culture, suspense and ethnography, and social drama and romantic melodrama, always keeping us attentive to the evolution of the characters and to the way in which the perception of the phenomena changes from one to another, until reaching the level of tragedy. The predominating point of view is the logic approach of the sergeant, a man raised in an orphanage, who was called Six Fingers. In love with the beautiful village doctor, he tells her how, after being rejected because of the superstition of what having a sixth finger meant, he learned to respect its space, to take care of it, until it disappeared alone and, from then on, he assumed everything in life from that perspective. He is a rationalist rather than a skeptic, and analyzes the facts coldly. This character is contrasted by the exorcist (Rahimi Sam), a serious man confident in his profession, who does not doubt his ability to control demons, while the doctor stays in the middle, open to all manifestations.

A day after seeing it, "Zalava" is still a film that intrigues me, that awakens curiosity and reflection on themes such as faith and the unwavering adherence to the irrational. In addition, it is visually beautiful and an admirable first film. My only complaint is the abundance of dialogue in the final confrontation, but then I think that it may be a cultural trait, related to a certain gypsy verbosity, in a well-managed framework between professional actors and natural actors. The film won the Grand Prix of the International Association of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) at the Venice Film Festival, and the awards for Best First Film, Screenplay and Supporting Actor (Pourya Rahimi Sam) at the Fajr Film Festival. Highly recommended.

I don't know why the score is so low. I watched it today at the NIFFF and it was BRILLIANT!

Never had so much tension because of a pickle jar! The acting is great, the editing is great, the stress is real! It's not so much a horror movie as there's no horror... what's horrible is how superstition leads to stupid actions.

If you like to open your mind on foreign cinema, this is it!