Scream of the Ants

Mohsen Makhmalbaf is one of the most interesting of Iranian directors and, after Abbas Kiarostami, the best known one outside Iran. He started as an ultra-conservative, pro-revolutionary film maker and has since drifted away more and more towards a radical non-conformist school of cinema. Along the way his style has increasingly shifted from narrative driven cinema of A Moment of Innocence, Once Upon a Time Cinema and The Cyclist to more abstract films such as Gabbeh, The Silence and now, The Scream of the Ants.

Scream of the Ants could be described as Makhmalbaf's philosophies on life, religion and sex set against a series of visual tableaux. The "story" as such concerns a young Iranian couple who have journeyed to India to find "The Complete Man". Along the way, the couple, and a string of other characters, offer us pieces of Makmalbaf's philosophies. As an example, a driver taking the couple to see the Complete Man muses:"If you go by car to visit The Complete Man, you can have a good view; but if you go by foot, you'll have a vision." Well, if you find something profound in that, then you're likely to enjoy this film. Otherwise, it can be a very slow ride.

Scream of the Ants is bound to find notoriety in Iran for both its sex scenes and its religious view point. Although the sex is very tame by western standards, it is way beyond anything shown in Iranian films. For this reason it will undoubtedly become a hot pirate DVD in Iran where the chances of the film getting a public showing are less than zero. Makhmalbaf's strong visual style is a plus point. A more apt title for this film would have been the title of Makhmalbaf's previous movie "Sex and Philosophy"!

Mohsen Makhmalbaf had gradually won acclaim in his native Iran and eventually stood among the foremost representatives of Iranian cinema, but starting in the late 1990s he began to shoot abroad, keen to make films more daring than what his country's censors would allow, and in search of themes that, underneath the exotic locale, might have some universal meaning.

SCREAM OF THE ANTS, shot in India in 2006, is one of these. An Iranian married couple goes to India in search of a "perfect man" whose guidance the wife's meditation teacher recommended. The wife (Mahnour Shadzi) believes in India's spiritual promise and that its poor multitudes are happier than those with money. The husband (Mamhoud Chokrollahi) is a skeptic, who finds it hard to swallow claims of divinity and believes India's poor masses would benefit from a communist revolution.

The film tracks the pair through a series of poetic scenes that are more Makhmalbaf's fantasy of India than any claim to documentary realism. The subcontinent is wildly mixed, for example, with a Tibetan monk wandering the deserts of Rajastan. One can understand Makhmalbaf's lack of interest in grappling with Indian culture as it is, because the tension between the two married foreigners is where the drama really lies. Nonetheless, the "profound spiritual wisdom" that they finally receive in this exotic country, which must have stemmed mainly from Makhmalbaf's own imagination, is pretty cheap and cliche. As the couple reaches the climax of their journey in Varanasi along the Ganges, it is actually a German man (who dropped out of European society to become a seeker in India) who has the role of describing Indian religion. This makes one wonder if Makhmalbaf simply couldn't find any Indians willing to help because his overall approach was offensive to them.

Another flaw of the film lies with its acting, or rather the lack thereof. Makhmalbaf's brand of cinema is extremely tolerant of wooden delivery, perhaps because the characters are often speaking in English which native Iranian audiences wouldn't always understand. Yet when the dialogue is already risible with these fortune-cookie insights, the actors delivering it in such a stilted fashion simply makes these scenes in the film repugnant to English-speaking viewers.

SCREAM OF THE ANTS is overall a misstep, but it still holds some interest for cinephiles who have seen other Makhmalbaf films. Some of the poetry and humor here is engaging, even if it is not much. Also, this is a surprisingly sexually daring film, with female nudity, something which I mention not to exhort viewers to prurience but rather because it is interesting that this director now wanted to explore these areas.

Slightly uneven art-house film about an Iranian couple who travel to India; she to find religious enlightenment. He is not religious but travels as her companion. They meet several people along the way, from an old man with the power to "stop trains with his eyes" to an ex-German who assists with the burning of corpses on the river Ganges.

The film provides a fresh perspective on love, life and death.

Rich in atmosphere albeit somewhat pretentious in places, it is more an ode to humanity from an Indian / Oriental perspective. Profound at times, particularly when mentioning that one can travel all the continents, oceans, mountains and valleys of the world, and when back at home discover it all when looking into a droplet of dew...

The cinematography is excellent, and so too is the musical score. Most of the actors are naturalistic with some great performances. 8/10

Seriously I can't understand those who have rated this movie more than 2 stars!! What does this movie want to talk about? Plot? One of the worst plots I have ever seen. Acting? Couldn't be worse! Directing? Mr. Makhmalbaf, with all due respect, and despite your incredible directing in your other movies, you failed at this one! Hope this movie doesn't underrate your ability of directing!

First of all, this is not a movie for everyone. It is a blend of a feature film and a documentary, but if you ask me - perfectly put together.

The plot (if there is one) takes place in India. Many wonderful scenes from the hard life of its' people intertwine with dialogs between two main characters (who don't even have names), and their conversations with local people, in which they talk about life, religion and comfort in life.

I expect that many viewers, like the Male character, will not find anything beautiful or comforting in this movie, but only pain and suffering. But it seems to me that the movie does not even try to give any answers, but only to show some viewpoints. In particular, I remember a scene near the end, where a teacher says to a group of kids: "close your eyes and just smell". To me it seemed as if the director says: "do not try to understand everything you see, just accept it". And really, there were many scenes that I did not understand, but managed to find beauty inside.