Review by Vasneh

The movie "The Old Bachelor" can be an interesting experience for any viewer in Iranian cinema. From the very first scenes of the film, the viewer realizes the difference between this film and other Iranian films. The special framing and color attract more attention. The introduction and foundation of Gholam's character is done well and we as viewers get to know him well. The character of Rana, who plays a central role in the second half of the film, also has a good foundation, but this introduction and completion of the character introduction could have helped the film to be better if it had been formed earlier. But the worst characterization and perhaps acting of this film was Ali, the son of Gholam, played by Hamed Behdad. Ali's character is a ready-made character type. You can see characters like this outside the film in many series and films, but in this film you should not see exactly or even worse than other cases. Ali, regardless of his personality, is the son of Gholam. Being the son of Gholam should make Ali different. Hamed Behdad's acting was also insensitive. But this does not mean that this character does not do his job well in the film. The film uses the character it created and does not falter. The cinematography is one of the strengths of the work, which imprints lasting scenes in the viewer's mind. Although the script is very well-written and logical, there are several minor flaws that prevent it from being completed. For example, where does the father get so much money? Ali and Reza's exit at the end of the film and creating a situation for Gholam was completely to advance the story and there was no strong logic behind it. And the most important point is that more work should have been done on completing the characters (especially Ali's character).

The ending is also shocking and perhaps impressive at first, but in the end it was rushed and ineffective. After an hour, the ending is not at all the part of the film that you want to talk about. It even lacked logic in some ways! The final conflict, which could have been the peak of the story and narrative, became the only point to end the film and only ended the story. Although despite all this, the mise-en-scène of the last minutes of the film was unique in Iranian cinema.

In the end, we saw a film that was several levels better than other Iranian films in recent years, and all the negative points I mentioned above do not prevent you from enjoying this film and making it one of the best Iranian films you have ever seen. In my opinion, if the above points were corrected, they would have made this film more memorable.