The Iranian film An honest manproduced by Mohammad Rasoulof won the A certain look price During the 70th Edition of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Amply deserved price.
Synopsis Reza and Hadis live with their son in a house in the countryside. Hadis is director of a high school for girls and Reza has a breeding of red fish. They face a private company who wishes to grab their house and land. Reza will want to resist and face.
Réza is straight in his boots. He refuses compromises and corruption. We know it from the start when he prefers to go and sell his car to repay his debts rather than pay a pot of wine and see them reduced.
And that is precisely his problem. How could a man so honest face a corrupt society? How to remain straight and honest in all circumstances in a country where betrayal, nepotism, corruption and authoritarianism reign? What can he do alone against everyone? How to fight corruption when it is absolutely everywhere, at all levels, in all sectors? Everyone knows it, everyone complains about it, but all end up complaining.
The brother-in-law said it well: we can’t do anything about it, you have to accept and enter the system.
Réza refused. And he has absolutely lost everything. He was forced to fight. Not to be loyal, not in accordance with the law, but by using cunning and murder. He was cornered to do justice himself. Is this the right solution? What to do when you find yourself in such dead ends and the state institutions do not work? When they are at the mercy of some mafia people who exploit their powers, what to do? How to defend yourself when you can no longer obtain justice? What to do when you can’t be heard?
Reza Akhlaghirad in the role of Reza
Although the main theme of the film is corruption, the director raises some other through or injustices of Iranian society.
He addresses for example the theme of religion, his prohibitions and the lack of individual freedoms or freedom of conscience.
The film began with a scene where we see Réza preparing his own alcohol. He makes watermelons ferment for his personal use. And of course, he does it in secret. Besides, this alcohol he makes, he also drinks it in secret, in a cave, all alone, far from looks.
While he is at home, all of a sudden, people disembark and come to check that there is no alcohol. They search everywhere. Who are these men? By what right? By what right do they enter citizens without a mandate, without any official paper, to verify that they do not hold alcohol? Pure and hard inquisition!
Same for this young girl sent from the school on the orders of the rectorate, just because she was another religion. From what right is there a person from pursuing studies because of their religion?
The same problem then arises during the burial. Where to bury the body of a non -Muslim person?
Sudabeh Beizae in the role of Hadis
Moreover, we could consider thatAn honest man is a feminist film. The place of women is important. Hadis, the wife, is not a submissive woman and victim, but on the contrary she is a fighting woman who acts. She works, she helps, she chats, she fights…. She has her place in family and society.
In fact the image that we have from the outside is that the Iranian woman is a submissive and erased woman. Now when you go to Iran, you can see how false this image is. It is true that legally the Iranian woman has no rights, that she has no freedom, not even that of dressing as she would like, but she really has her place in society. It is active, it is present, it is respected…. And the film shows it well.
An honest man is a political, courageous and committed film. The director and the actors, who are excellent, have taken huge risks by participating.
Neïla Driss
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