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Roobane Ghermez, La Cinta roja, Red Ribbon (1999)
Directed by: Ebrahim Hatamikia
Date of birth: 1961, Tehran, Iran
Writing credits: Ebrahim Hatamikia
Country: Iran
Language: Farsi
Color: Color
Runtime: 110 minutes
Released: 1999
Genre: Drama

The red ribbon
Hatamikia's new film goes right to the heart
By Najmeh Fakhraie

Once in a while you leave the movie theater not only laughing about the weird hairdo of the person who sat in front of you, but actually "thinking" about the film. How these moments occur and what causes them I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that it takes courage and much brilliance to make people think.

I had such a moment a week ago when I went to see Ebrahim Hatamikia's wonderful film "The Red Ribbon", at a private screening (the public screening was a few months back). Gorgeous in scenery and rather intriguing in plot, I can say that this movie is one of a kind. It takes place in the desert, and only stars three actors (if you don't count the turtle) and it amazes me to see how much one can say with only three people and a camera.

Idealists always believe that all their efforts are toward giving people a better life. But once they come to power and try to carry out their theories -- which are only based on imaginary beliefs and no real facts -- they end up wearing the people out. And only then do they begin to think of a solution.

This occurs when all their ideas have faded and a second generation who is looking toward a future is born. -- of course, a future that is based on reality. And only those who still believe in imaginary theories are left from the first generation. These people don't know where they have gone wrong. They haven't realized what caused the people to turn their backs on them. They blame society's misfortunes on two things: illusive powers they have no control over, and the second "misguided" generation.

David, the bearded rough looking man, whose job is taking out land mines, represents the first generation; Jomeah, the mysterious Afghani who lives in a dump where a thousand war tanks are kept, is the second. And Mahboubeh who has lost everything and now only wants to live, represents the people.

Theories which are only based on illusion never get you anywhere. But those who do believe in them, and have a chance to force their beliefs on people claim that their deeds are only for the well-being of society. They encourage death, self-sacrifice and devotion and claim that this will all bring us a better future, where we can all live comfortably. But for now no one has the right to do so! In other words they say: put everything on the line for something that may (or may not) happen many many years later.

David is the guardian of the past, and Jomeah is looking toward the future, and they both want Mahboubeh - the people - on their own side, while overlooking the fact that the people are living in the present -- somewhere neither Jomeah or David exist.

I want to thank Mr. Hatamikia so very much for moving me and audiences all around the country. And I want to thank him for another reason , more important then all the rest: if you can't get it all together to accomplish this thing called "peace", you at least do your own part in your own life, because that's where you can make an immediate difference.

I don't think for a minute that if there is ever going to be peace in this country, a politician or diplomat is going to be the one to achieve it. It will be people like Mr. Hatamikia, and fellow artists at home and abroad who might one day be able to help with the process. Because unlike politicians, they hit our hearts, not our minds and the heart is one big sucker for embracing beauty and wanting to give some of it back.
(By Najmeh Fakhraie, a 16-year-old student in Tehran.)

Ebrahim Hatamikia's The Red Ribbon seemed to be a great favorite with many of the Iranian critics whom I met, yet fared less well with the foreign guests. It's a dense, highly metaphoric drama involving three characters and set in a tank graveyard in the no-man's-land between Iran and Iraq. Our response was no doubt hindered by problems of translation; it reminded me a bit of some of the later absurdist dramas by Fernando Arrabal and others. Still, Azita Hajian, who won the award for best actress, does give an extremely intense, amazingly physical performance. (By Richard Peña)

Credited cast overview: Azita Hajian, Reza Kianian, Parvis Parastui

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