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For many, '"Iranian film" conjures up the art cinema of Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, but the country also produces its share of genre flicks with characters and conventions familiar to movie-lovers in any country. This two-pack offers a road movie and a romantic comedy - Iranian style. By turns pleasant and profound, Going By (2001, 86 mins.) is a remarkable debut feature for Iraj Karimi, one of Iran's most prominent film critics. On any given day, a variety of travelers take the road from Tehran to northern Iraq. On one particular day, four carloads of people take the main road, each for different reasons. The characters do not know each other, and their final destinations differ, but their conversations about life and death have much in common. While staying within the conventions of the road movie, Karimi successfully adds a metaphorical dimension to the daylong journey of the characters. In The Pastry Girl (2002, 105 mins.), Saeed has been trying to marry the homely pastry chef Niloo for 20 years, but their rivaling families have used one ploy after another to block the marriage. Just as it appears that both clans have finally softened, fistfights break out at the ceremony, prompting another postponement. Iraj Tahmasb's Iranian farce skewers marriage customs and social conventions in a colorful fashion. In Farsi with English subtitles.
Iraj Karimi/Iraj Tahmasb - Iran - 2001/2002 - 191 mins.
- Facets Video
- Release date: 10/25/2011
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