IRAN: Jazire Ahani (Iron Island). 2005

Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Stars: Ali Nasirian, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh, Neda Pakdaman, Abdolkarim Ghani-Koovei, Aref Zakeri.
Release date: France - 5 Oct 2005.
Length: 90 min

This seems to have been a festival favourite worldwide. It showed at last years Melbourne's International Film Festival, but not Sydneys. Strange how Iranian cinema is always so lively & interesting, with this one seeming even more fascinating than many others. Most likely because it is set on a ship instead of in a dusty rural village. Makes a nice visual change. I've seen the trailer & it looks how it sounds. Wonderfully uplifting considering the circumstances that are depicted.

Synopsis
In this fast-paced tale about poor people in the Persian Gulf living aboard a sinking oil tanker, this amazing film is a sharp allegory about Iran and a galloping fable full of offbeat characters and entertaining moments. The gigantic, crumbling barge is occupied by unemployable social outcasts and homeless people, united by their passionate Muslim faith. Captain Nemat, an elderly, yet highly charismatic patriarch, dominates this strange community; despite the fact the owners of the ship and the authorities have ordered them to leave. His contradictory leadership style--alternating compassion with ferocious brutality--mirrors that of recent regimes in Iran. When his young assistant wants to marry a girl against her father’s wishes, the aftermath exposes all of Captain Nemat’s contradictions and strengths.

No website available