jgreenwriting

Somewhere to Stay is a powerful story told in under twenty minutes. This short film challenges the viewer to consider whether absolute devotion to one's family or one's faith is better, and it explores a real-life event that occurred in Iran. Amirhossein Hatami wrote and directed a compelling story, which pits a father and son against one another in a test of faith versus family.

Hatami's silence between the characters within the first few minutes creates a dark atmosphere and holds onto that mysterious tone when conversation breaks among the characters. The continued "circling around the problem" draws the viewers' attention, as they want to discover what the father and son's argumentative conversation is regarding. The rapid back-and-forth dialogue between the son and father added tension to the scene, keeping the viewer engaged as the narrative progressed.

The son, Rashid, repeatedly battles his conscience as he struggles to follow his father or follow his own morals. Hatami's foreshadowing with the original panel on the boats is a powerful motif, and the sense of tension, anxiety, and peril drives this story to a dramatic performance. The scene only shifts a handful of times, creating a condensed atmosphere where the narrative excels, engaging the viewer in the actors' performance.

Somewhere to Stay, being a short film, pulls at the viewers' emotions and makes a concise narrative feel like a full-length movie. This is director Hatami's first short film, and by no means did he disappoint. While there were a few elongated moments that could have been shortened, his theatrical storytelling of this real-life event awed me and left me pondering the difficulties of loyalty between one's faith and one's family.