Review:Janos Gereben
There is no better way to tour Teheran than on a motorbike with a man whose ostrich ran away. One of the many charms of Majid Majidi's wonderful new film, "The Song of the Sparrow" (Avaze gonjeshk-ha), is seeing the present-day capital from the streets as Karim is winding his way through traffic.
When we first meet weather-beaten, boxer-nosed, prematurely aged Karim (Mohammad Amir Naji, Berlin Film Festival award winner), he works at an ostrich farm, but when one of his charges escapes, and he is fired.
Without a job, supporting a family of four - including a teen daughter whose hearing aid needs to be replaced - Karim rides his motorbike to the city, and before he knows, he becomes a cycle-taxi driver.
From that point on, it's a fascinating travelogue both of the city and of Karim's urban pilgrimage through sins and redemptions, petty compromises with morality and heroic attempts to make up for his missteps.
With his sure touch, Majidi - director of the superb 1997 "Children of Heaven," and the 2001 "Baran," which also starred Naji - uses non-professional cast brilliantly; the children are especially a wonder to behold.
"In the name of God" says the opening frame of the film, which is mixing gritty, hilarious, affecting reality with respectful treatment of religion, so that it may be safe from the Revolutionary Guard, whoever wins today's election there - as if there was a question about that.
When we first meet weather-beaten, boxer-nosed, prematurely aged Karim (Mohammad Amir Naji, Berlin Film Festival award winner), he works at an ostrich farm, but when one of his charges escapes, and he is fired.
Without a job, supporting a family of four - including a teen daughter whose hearing aid needs to be replaced - Karim rides his motorbike to the city, and before he knows, he becomes a cycle-taxi driver.
From that point on, it's a fascinating travelogue both of the city and of Karim's urban pilgrimage through sins and redemptions, petty compromises with morality and heroic attempts to make up for his missteps.
With his sure touch, Majidi - director of the superb 1997 "Children of Heaven," and the 2001 "Baran," which also starred Naji - uses non-professional cast brilliantly; the children are especially a wonder to behold.
"In the name of God" says the opening frame of the film, which is mixing gritty, hilarious, affecting reality with respectful treatment of religion, so that it may be safe from the Revolutionary Guard, whoever wins today's election there - as if there was a question about that.
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