Prior to watching the movie's premiere in Paris, given Mani Haghighi's remarkable creativity, especially demonstrated in films like "Dragon Arrives," I had high expectations for a highly imaginative and unique movie, especially with the idea of Taraneh and Navid together, which was partly fulfilled and partly not.
The storytelling, with its attention to intricate personal relationships that people often try to conceal, is captivating and impactful. It also induces the question of whether we fall in love with people's appearances or their personalities. The inappropriate behavior of a romantic partner, the inability to move on in a relationship, or falling in love outside of it-the film raises questions that define our perception of individuals.
The movie's narrative is such that it proves extremely challenging for the two main characters to portray, and this surpasses the acting ability of even a talented actor like Navid Mohammadzadeh, whose style of acting remains inflexible even in two separate roles in two different films. Thus, the actors could have been chosen more intelligently.
The screenplay tells a fascinating, creative, and maneuverable story for the director. However, quite evidently, Mani Haghighi couldn't inject his mindset from this narrative into the viewers' veins. Perhaps the limited time during the film's production played a role. The movie starts well and progresses reasonably swiftly initially. If we divide the film into three parts concerning its timing, we can observe that the pacing is not only uniform but also not deliberately so, sometimes proving vexing for the audience.
Overall, the film is a distinct one, which might transform the monotonous trend in Iranian cinema in recent decades. Best wishes to dear Mani Haghighi.
