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"No Man Is An
Island" |
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Directed by Mohammad
Rasoulof - Written by
Mohammad Rasoulof
Starring Ali Nasirian,
Hossein Farzi-Zadeh,
Neda Pakdaman
Distributed by Kino -
2006 - 90mins - Rated NR |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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C+ |
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Lost at sea... |
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I have no hesitation
in admitting that I am not particularly familiar with Iranian cinema.
That said, when I picture Iranian cinema I'm not sure I've ever
pictured a film such as "Jazireh ahani," or "Iron Island" in the
United States.
"Iron Island" is, above all, a testimony to the human spirit in its
exploration of the everyday lives of a group of castaways living
together on a weathered, slowly sinking tanker. They are led by the
benevolent, compassionate yet often brutally rigid Captain Nemat (Ali
Nasirian). Nemat serves as ultimate ruler, guide, counselor, advocate,
etc. He handles virtually all affairs for every individual on the
ship, and he does so with compassion unless he is crossed.
The film is fairly simple in its theme as we follow these individuals
as they struggle to maintain their lives on this "Iron Island," then
prepare to face life on land once it is determined that they simply
cannot any longer live on this sinking boat.
"Iron Island" is filled with intriguing characters from Nemat to Ahmad
(Hossein Farzi-Zadeh), a young man in love with a woman he is
forbidden to have. The ship includes men, women, young boys and even
one man in a wheelchair who operates the lift for the boat. The boat
even includes a teacher for the young children.
"Iron Island" is frequently a beautiful film to behold, however,
writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof is far too self-indulgent throughout
the film. Quite often, camera shots linger for no apparent reason and
the film's sound mix is often filled with irritating noise effects
that don't match the action on the screen. Thus, for every utterly
captivating movement Rasoulof offers up at least one or two
self-indulgent ones.
The film is most effective in examining the resilience of the human
spirit even as one's ship is sinking. One could easily make political
comparisons, however, to do such would be extremely narcissistic and
may even dilute the impact of the film.
Nasirian offers a strong performance as the Captain, and Farzi-Zadeh
does a fine job as a rebellious young man who ultimately pays a price
for defying the Captain.
The film's score is effective, but is frequently diluted by the film's
other sound mix issues. The camera work, especially being so confined
within the ship's setting, is appropriately grim without being
hopeless.
While I'm not an expert on Iranian customs or traditions, the film
felt faithful to the Iranian culture.
Ultimately, though, what should have been an incredibly powerful film
ends up never quite coming together. The vision of Rasoulof is clear,
however, the film falls victim to Rasoulof's self-indulgence and a
script that tries too hard to make important statements and appears to
become confused in its purpose by the film's halfway mark.
All this confusion means that "Iron Island" ends up lost at sea. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
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