How to overcome rough terrain, imagining that you are walking in a straight line. A wonderful drama "Imaginary Straight" by Sh. Maslahi. Looks in one breath without the desire to distract or rewind forward, which happens in especially boring cases. This family drama, which is the majority of Iranian paintings, is not boring.
A psychological drama where the categories of sin, lies, redemption and punishment are considered. Which is also often in the country's cinema.
The plot is quite simple and the form of submission is not complicated. Lives, and not bad financially, a small family: a husband-silovik Hamed, a wife-teacher Sarah and a lovely daughter-preschooler. Spouses are not young, plus/minus 40. Apartment and cars. This film is not about poverty.
The wife’s relatives are planning a wedding, and the family is going there. Exactly until the daughter does not catch a cold, and the husband is not sent on an urgent business trip. Taking care of an unhealthy girl, Hamed forbids his wife to go to a wedding in another city in bad weather. But since the husband generally loves to command and forbid, according to Sarah, she for the first time (or not for the first time) decides not to obey, but to act in her own way.
After all, a beloved sister / niece is married, they prepare for the wedding for a long time - in general, it is impossible not to come ...
And then bad omens begin, that is, signs. They shout: Stay at home as Hamed said! Nothing bad will happen.
But if only we paid attention to the signs! So Sarah tried not to bother.
On the night after the celebration, misfortune occurs.
Then begins a nightmare for the whole family. Soon Hamed will return, who is sure that the family is at home and in order, and he will somehow have to explain what happened to the grief. The grief-stricken family persuades the heroine to tell her husband the truth, because her direct guilt in the incident is not. But Sarah, who fell into a stupor and did not shed a single tear, is categorically against... And the heroine piles one lie on another, further aggravating the already tragic situation. At the complete surprise of the silent family, which does not welcome this lie, but keeps silent for good reasons.
Sarah’s husband is not a fool: after conducting a simple and short investigation, he still finds out the truth. And he gets angry...
The abundance of sins, the burden of guilt becomes unbearable for the heroine. Even with the support of the family and the forgiveness of her husband, she cannot and does not want to forgive herself.
The metaphorical title “The 180-degree Rule” or “Imaginary Straight,” which is used in filming character dialogue, is a reverse/negative metaphor here: there is no dialogue here. No matter how you shoot the characters, drawing an imaginary straight line on them, they still look and go in different directions. As is often the case in Iranian family dramas, and not just in Iranian ones.
Best played by S. Dolatshahi in the lead role. Even in the original, without translation, her play is very convincing, though little emotional. The heroine is not hysterical, not choleric, like some actresses of Iranian cinema, all the time screaming. She is a teacher, an example for students, the wife of a security officer at the post - in general, she knows how to behave restrainedly. But most remarkable of all, she is in scenes of stress and grief - immobile, mute. I’ve seen this actress before, but she didn’t attract much attention. Here is her role, her triumph. All awards at the festivals for the best female role are fair. Heroes of Iranian cinema - men, women - very, very rarely.
As for the idea of sin and punishment, no matter how everyone convinced the heroine of her innocence and accidental misfortunes, she judged herself, accused and punished herself. Everything is silent, without explaining anything to anyone. Played and staged so strongly that everything is clear and without explanation.
I saw the film for the first time in the original and did not find a translation. After a couple of days, having decided to reconsider due to a strong impression, I suddenly found a duplicate. Appeared specifically for me, as not for the first time. I am glad that the translators and dubbers have finally listened to the cries of moviegoers. I highly recommend this beautiful tragic film.