It is her wedding night and her groom is eagerly awaiting her arrival with bated breath along with the guests. Alas, he is as stunned as the gathered guests when the bride, Shirin Naeimi (Tannaz Tabatabayi), arrives with blood splattered on her otherwise spotless white bridal gown. Shortly thereafter, Shirin is arrested for murder of a man who appears to be a complete stranger. While Shirin confesses to the crime before the investigators, she is reluctant to say anything more on her reasons for the same. Shirin's troubled parents engage a lawyer to save her from what appears to be a certain conviction and the resultant, capital punishment. Meanwhile Shirin's fianceè is dazed after the shocking events of the wedding night and finds himself under severe backlash from his family who had opposed the marriage in the first place. He feels let down by Shirin and abhors her for it. Yet, he continues to be in love with her. Shirin, despite feeling deep love for him, remains a prisoner of her circumstances and more critically, of her past. Seemingly resigned to her fate after confessing to her crime, she withdraws into a shell and stonewalls further questions - by the investigators as well her lawyer - with a loud silence.
Is the dead man actually a stranger to Shirin ? Did Shirin actually kill him and if so, why did she resort to such an extreme measure on her wedding night ? Why did she confess to the crime ? Having confessed, why has she remained silent ?The rest of the movie explains her pitiful predicament in a non-linear narrative which alternates between her past and the present which is in parts a thriller as well as a courtroom drama.
Tannaz Tabatabayi delivers a fine performance that strikes the right note to convey the anguish and emotional turmoil of Shirin. Derekshandeh presents a gripping narrative and refrains from posturing or preaching even as she peppers the film with subtle touches, be it the behavioural nuances of Shirin such as her fidgeting, fearful blink on facing the flash of a camera or even the silent solidarity expressed by Shirin's fellow inmates.
Any murder is an abominable crime which calls for swift and severe punishment to the perpetrator. But, how would one punish a crime when it involves the murder of a person's soul where there are no dead bodies to find nor a complaint is registered ? What does one make of a crime where the accused remains scot free while the victims are hauled over the coals ?
Iranian director Pouran Derakshandeh's Hush! Girls Don't Scream ! addresses a very relevant and often ignored horror that haunts societies universally. She draws our sharp focus on how the very structure of a society steeped on conservatism and religious ideology could cripple the rights and muffle the cries for help from a vandalised section of such society. And irrespective of the geographic, economic, religious or cultural divides, there seems to be a disturbing unanimity in the ways in which such societies tend to (mis)handle such happenings. It is indeed a travesty that in the garb of decency, honour and scores of more silly excuses, almost all societies turn a blind eye to such inhuman crimes even as they silence the desperate screams of victims by playing a helpless, mute and deaf spectator. Consequently, we have a skewed societal system which emboldens the perpetrators while mutilating their victims irreparably forever.
It is interesting that such a movie, on what is considered a strictly taboo subject in most parts of the world, is made in Iran, which is seen as a staunchly conservative society. It is even more amazing to know that it had a wide release in Iran and was also a blockbuster, besides praise at several international film festivals including the recently concluded Bangalore International Film Festival (BIFFES). Veteran director Derakshandeh deserves plaudits for making a movie that is seething with anger, yet, at the same time remaining, sensitive, subtle, nuanced and above all, universally relevant.
Enraging, deeply affective and lingering on long after the viewing, this movie makes a pitched scream to societies around the world to wake up and take note of a devastating crime in our midst !
