Stranded in a remote Iranian village, Freidoune (James Caviezel), a French journalist is approached by Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo), a woman who has a harrowing tale to tell about her niece, Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), and the bloody circumstances of her death the day before...As the journalist turns on his tape recorder, Zahra takes us back to the beginning of her story which involves Soraya's husband Ali (Navid Negahban), the local phony mullah (Ali Pourtash), and a town all too easily led down a path of deceit, coercion, and hysteria. The women, stripped of all rights and without recourse, nobly confront the overwhelming desires of corrupt men who use and abuse their authority to condemn Soraya, an innocent but inconvenient wife, to an unjust and torturous death. A shocking and true drama, it exposes the dark power of mob rule, uncivil law, and the utter lack of human rights for women. The last and only hope for some measure of justice lies in the hands of the journalist who must escape with the story -- and his life -- so the world will know in The Stoning of Soraya M.
The Stoning of Soraya M. has not yet hit theaters, but believe me, this is one film that will not appear quietly and disappear without notice. I attended a pre-release screening last night, and it reminded me of all the reasons I love film as an art form and as a medium of communication. When it finally makes it to the theaters, people should line up to see this powerful, dramatic, and disturbing representation of a true story. The film comes from a book of the same name, written by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam, about the stoning execution of a young wife and mother for the crime of infidelity. Sahebjam discovers this story by accident and had to wait until he gets out of Iran to tell it. The regime in Tehran officially denies that any such executions take place, but at least one videotape of a stoning has been smuggled out of Iran, and many more people have testified to their occurrence. Zahra (Aghdashloo) is tending to a fresh gravesite when she spots a stranger rolling into her village in an ailing car. He is French-Iranian journalist Sahebjam (the curiously cast Jim Caviezel, complete with distracting nose makeup), whom Zahra is conspicuously interested in talking to. As mechanic Hashem (Parviz Sayyad) works on his car, Zahra gives Sahebjam a map to her home. From the start of director Cyrus Nowrasteh's screenplay, co-written with wife Betty Griffin Nowrasteh, stilted and obvious dialogue mars the mood of a hillside village that appears to be holding a dark secret. Zahra's story centers around Soraya (Marno), who lives glumly in an arranged marriage to crude, inhuman Ali (Negahban) with their children. Tired of Soraya's rebellious ways and itching to marry a teen girl, Ali demands that Soraya agree to a new arrangement. She refuses, and, as Ali lacks the cash to pay for a marriage dowry, he is left in a quandary. His nefarious solution: Accuse Soraya of sleeping with widower Hashem, for whom Soraya has been asked to tend home while he's at work. Charges are spurious, as the local and extremely shifty mullah (Pourtash) knows and as Soraya's fiercely protective and imposing aunt Zahra loudly exclaims, but like an inevitable wave that can't be stopped, a medieval process takes hold that dooms Soraya to death by stoning. The bulk of the film amounts to a long sit through a flurry of elementary dramatics to get to the fateful day; once it arrives, Nowrasteh's direction gains added energy and intensity. The methodical preparation and final stoning consume over 20 grueling, intense and horrific minutes, concluding with an intimately realistic display of group brutality that's rare in the movies. Even this impact, however, is blunted by corny touches. The performances are universally excellent. Aghdashloo, an Iranian ex-patriate herself, brings Zahra and her defiance and despair to life. Mozhan Marno portrays Soraya beautifully, especially in the execution scene. Jim Caveziel plays the journalist, and while he doesn’t get much screen time, he does well with what he has. Navid Negahban provides a malevolent presence as Ali, while David Diaan’s Ebrahim winds up being perhaps the worst of the villains — a good man who refuses to stop an injustice he knows to be happening. I recommend you see this movie. The Stoning of Soraya M will send a powerful message all around the world — and it will haunt you for a very long time, especially the execution sequence, which had most of the audience tonight in sobs. A movie this powerful should be seen and will have all those that do, talking afterwards. A strong 4 on my "Go See" scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment