Crimson Gold
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Movie Reviews of Crimson Gold
Movie Review: Reasons, not justification
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a trip through Iran on a motorcycle. Albeit the pollution on the lower class area, this is a breath of fresh air from any Hollywood flick. No rich main character here, brimming with one inch thick makeup. Just a pizza delivery man, who is obese, literally and emotionally from society's unfairness.
He found it traumatizing to be snubbed by an uptown jeweler, the wheels of his brain is spinning faster than his third world motorcycle wheels. Yes, the jeweler is a meanie, and I hope he chokes on his diamonds, but of course he didnt deserve to be kicked and beaten by Hussein. I dont think the writers of this movie is justifying Hussein's acts on the jeweler, but just offers us one after another reasons why and how someone like Hussein would do something like that.
The highest form of psychological art in here is when he is invited and made welcome by a rich Persian-American. At this point, I was wondering what Hussein would do to him. The makers of this movie, combined with Hussein's lack of Hollywood histrionics, brings out intense anxiety. Hussein is one unpredictable gentleman.
I strongly suggest this movie to those out there who wants a break from Hollywood. The characters can be dissected in so many ways. Through Hussein's living elements in contrast with the pompous third world richies, watchers are left to THINK. Yes, its a thinking and feeling movie.
Movie Review: Captivating film
Summary: 4 Stars
I really loved this film. I thought it was intense, sad, and humbling. Hussein is a large, quiet man who always appears preoccupied, and is unable to discuss his feelings to those close to him. He wants to make his fiance happy, but feels he needs to be able to provide for her nice things. When they were in the jewelry shop he kept looking over at the rich couple, and how easy it was for her husband to purchase such a nice piece of jewelry. The real turning point in the film was when Hussein and his fiance entered the high-end jewelry store, & you could see how much more miserable he became afterward. This film is good for men to watch because it really explores some of the feelings of inadequacy that men experience-and the pressure to be providers. I think it is even more intense for men in Iran-because of the strict gender roles between men and women. As a whole, this film really is about class differences in a very oppressed country.Movie Review: Nice film, well-done.
Summary: 4 Stars
Slow in unfolding, Crimson Gold is nevertheless compelling, the very stuff classic film is made of.
I first saw this film at a Middle Eastern film festival, despite the fact that Iran isn't actually a Middle Eastern country (though it is predominantly Islamic in faith).
At any rate, the tale involves two crooks who basically have good hearts, and their struggle against the class system, and, more specifically, their low status.
The film is effective in presenting the religious and political climate, but also the despair that could drive a person into doing something desperate. I'm trying to NOT spoil the film for you, just in case you couldn't tell.
I took one star away from this film because only the best-best-BEST films on earth should get a five. Nonetheless, I'm sure you'll like this film inshallah! :)
Movie Review: "What kind of man goes out with his wife?"
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw the trailer for this in theaters a few years ago and thought it looked terrible. The opening, in which a thief shoots the proprietor and then himself in a hold-up gone bad, is by turns humorous and horrifying. The viewer is finally shut in in with the unfortunate thief and owner when the cage door accidentally closes and locks shut. An audience of passers-by gathers outside as the situatiion within grows more and more desperate. The rest of the movie is an attempt to show how such desperation could arise by following a driver as he delivers food to various upscale locales throughout Tehran.
In a role that is apparently taken straight from his life, Hossain Emadeddin's hulking presence dominates almost every frame. Early on in the movie he reveals to his friend Ali the frustration he hides underneath his pained silence, and for the rest of the movie he remains laconic to a degree that throws off everone around him. When he drives his fiancee back home his smoldering anger leaves her confused and silenced on her doorstep, but when a customer later invites him into his luxury house and proceeds to talk to his girlfriend on the phone, Hossein wanders around the mansion drinking wine from a bottle in the kind of bacchanalian revelry he has hitherto witnessed only from the outside looking in. Is this what's supposed to set him off? There's not much in the way of plot, and even the tension raised early in the film seems to evaporate on a Vespa tour that at times seemed like a weird cross between 'La Dolce Vita' and 'The Trial.'
The current plight of women in Iran is everywhere in evidence, hidden under scarves by day, bullied by police on the streets at night. Their purses are snatched and their needs mocked by men who never seem to know what to do if they can't control them. There are a number of scenes of dark humor, such as the policeman who asks a man coming out of an apartment building, "What kind of man goes out with his wife?" Or when a young woman plaintively asks Hussein if the reason for his anger is the fact that she raised her head scarf to show him a necklace. All well-aimed barbs at the mullahs ruling the theocratic state, which is probably why Panahi reportedly had to stay one step ahead of the police while making the movie. Uneven over the entire span, there are nevertheless some excellent moments throughout, and certainly offers a fascinating and pointed look at life in contemporary Iran.
Movie Review: an unexpected treat
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a very interesting Iranian film from Jafar Panahi, an Iranian director/writer who also made The White Balloon and The Circle. A socialist, Panahi takes a deadpan, unfiltered look at the state of Iran's corrupt theocratic dictatorship today.
There is a vast gulf between the country's wealthy, its poor, and its struggling middle class. The bland view of a fascistic police state where due process is ignored works well because it's portrayed without emotion or polemics. It's just what is.
In the center of this film's story is a sad, dispirited man, Hussein Emadeddin, who makes a living delivering pizzas on his motorbike. Most of the clients are wealthy Iranians who always seem to have a party going on. His friend and brother-in-law to be, Ali (Kamyar Sheiss, doing a wonderful job as the only real comic presence) tries to keep Hussein's flagging spirits alive by talking him to death and planning petty crimes like purse snatching while riding on the back of Hussein's motorbike. A more elaborate heist is proposed, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
This, for me, was an absorbing film, and technically very well-made. I am becoming more and more impressed with films coming out of the middle east, particularly those made in Iran and Kurdistan. I did not feel that it was too slow, but some invariably will. It is reminiscent in a way to some of the old Nouvelle Vague films of the 60's in its portrayal of the feckless rich and the struggling poor. A very sympathetic film whose political message is not shoved down our throats (don't worry: the director's socialism is not pushed on us as it would be in a European or American film). It's artfully done, well-written, and expertly directed and photographed. To be fair, I would have given this movie 3.5 stars had that been possible.