Baran (Persian: باران )

Movie: Baran

Year: 2001

Director: Majid Majidi

Language: Persian

Synopsis: Set in 2001 when a lot of Afghan refugees had come to Iran. the story begins in one of the construction sites in Iran where the contractor breaks the rules and employs a lot of cheap Afghan labour. Lateef is an Iranian boy working in one of these sites. He does all kinds of odd jobs like serving tea and making the meals. He enjoys his light work and keeps cracking witty liners. One day in an accident Najaf is injured and breaks his leg. As the only earning member he sends his son Rahmat to the site as a replacement. Rahmat is a weakling and is unable to do to the heavy manual work at the construction site. Hence, the contractor, Memar, allocates Lateef's easy job to Rahmat and Lateef has to help with the construction of the building. Lateef hates this shift and is very sore about it. He wastes no opportunity to insult Rahmat. Till one day when he finds out by sheer accident something that changes his life  After a lot of deliberation within myself I have decided that I shall not spoil the fun for all my readers and let them find the twist themselves. But trust me it’s a scene that makes the rest of the movie a cinematic experience not worth missing.

My own take: Baran is by far the most sensitive movie I have ever seen. The movie scenes are so subtle and the mood is so quiet and subdued that it’s a rare find. The strongest point of Majidi movies I feel is that there is no real villain out to ruin anybody’s life. Situations are all normal life situations; the drama comes from everyday dilemmas. The characters are all doing their job and making the choices which work best for them yet there is room for complications, for love, for pain, for agony, for helplessness, for courage, for stupidity. The characters are not even caught in a never ending whirlwind of chaos or bad luck but plain lives meeting unexpected twists. The other strength of the movie lies in its rare display of love in a different society itself. The appreciation of the beauty happens automatically when you see that how you really don’t need dialogues or words to express love and compassion. Must watch for people who like movies of Satyajit Ray. The genre is the same. Special thanks to Jerry Jose for gifting me this movie.