Baran, Movie Review

                       No one can contest the might of the cinematic image in conveying the inner essence of things. Yet, we seem more often avid of hearing rather than watching. We are seemingly more preoccupied with the implications of dialogues. Thus, the image as a unit in the complex language of cinema is considered as a subordinate to the spoken lines or no more than an accompanying item that is attached to the dialogue to add a touch of authenticity to the plot. “Baran” (which means rain in Farsi) written and directed by Majid Majidi is the kind of film that restores to the cinematic image its glow. In Baran, silence definitely speaks louder than all the eloquent words. Baran assuredly celebrates the expressive functions of silence.
                      The film relates the plight of Afghan refugees who fled the war to the Iranian capital Tehran.  Lateen is a 17 years lad who serves tea in a construction site managed by a foreman named Memar. His quarrelsome temper causes him  to switch his job with Rahmat  the son of an Afghani worker  Najaf who has recently broke his leg as he was working illegally in the construction site.  Being in a dire need of income, Najaf sends his 14 year old son to replace him at work.  Memar the foreman pities the man’s situation and accepts to hire the young boy as bricklayer despite his frail silhouette.  Unsatisfied with the manual labour, Lateef  tries to sabotage Rahmat’s work as an act of retaliation. One day he pours paint on him from the top of a high building. Rahmat locks himself in the kitchen to change his clothes. As Lateef approaches the tea room he is baffled to hear a feminine voice singing. He is more astonished when he realizes that Rahmat is a girl.
                            Ashamed of his vindictive attitude, he repents by being protective of her and falls gradually in love with her hidden grace. He ventures to fight with labour inspectors who chase Rahmat.  Persecuted by the inspectors, the Afghani woman finds no available work but lifting heavy stones from the banks of  a fast flowing river. He decides to offer her father all his saving anonymously through a common friend.  Najaf in a compassionate gesture gives the money to his friend who goes back to Afghanistan. Rahmat feels Lateef’s interest but remains enshrined in a divine silence.  She does not utter a word during all their face to face scenes. Lateef is distraught when Najaf tells him that he is leaving with his family to Afghanistan. As he helps her father to carry their modest furniture, Lateef exchanged a last but  long and soulful glances that mirror  their perplexed feeling .
                           Majidi the screen play writer triumphs with a compelling plot that lures the viewer smoothly to the world of construction workers in Tehran‘s cold winter. The most striking feature of the story line is its refined subtlety as it unfolds gradually. The lack of suspense techniques undermines by no token the films’ appeal. In fact, the purity of feelings shaped by the protagonist’s crudeness under the weight of life constraints leaves the viewer in a hypnotic state and overwhelming sympathy. The director himself drives the characters towards   to standstill where they can snatch swift moments of uplifting experiences with their own souls that was unthinkable.  The intensity of feelings is further heightened during the milk ceremony scene where Rahmat is dressed in women clothes with a green chador around her shoulder while Lateed few steps from her is unaware of her presence.  The color choice is no coincidence since green in Islam is identified with spiritual uplifting journeys.
                        Hussain Abdeni in the role of Lateef is intensely believable and authentic . He handles admirably the coming of age of his round character and the transformation though noticeable remains in  an estranging harmony of the character’s evolution.  Zahra Bahrami( Rahmat) does not need to engage in verbal communication. She can convey streams of sensations through the piercing look of her puffy eyes. Her performance has the power to convert all the agnostic minds to the creed of human goodness.  Reza Naji (Memar) versatility is no longer disputed. He embodies  his role as a kind hearted foreman with a rare supremacy that it becomes hard to disentangle the fiction man from the actor.
                        Baran transforms the grim and half exposed construction site into limpid brooks flowing unconstrained smoothing the rough edges of the newly built brick walls. Majid Majidi exposes bashfully the immaculacy of human feelings in a tale though set in modern Iran seems reminiscent from an early age legend.