Review of It`s Winter

Introduction

After Jafar Panahi brought Iranian cinema to the mainstream with his acclaimed film `Offside`, Iran is now on the radar of not only hawks in Washington, but film critics worldwide.

With his fourth feature, Rafi Pitts travelled back to his native land to tell the story of the working class, through the travails of Moktar (Hashem Abdi), who leaves the country in search of work, his wife Khatoun (Mitra Hajjar) and their young daughter and Marhab (Ali Nicksaulat), who arrives at the station Moktar has just left, to try to improve his own job prospects. When Moktar is presumed dead, Khatoun starts seeing, then marries, Marhab to double the household income which combines his earnings from casual labour and her wage from a job sewing trousers in a factory. Marhab, like Moktar, drifts from job to job and eventually considers travelling abroad to find work.

Loosely based on a story by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi and using the poem `Winter` by Mehdi Akhavan Saless, `It`s Winter` is an elliptical film in which Moktar may represent Marhab`s future. Beginning and ending in the white bleakness of winter, `It`s Winter` is a stark look at the prospects of the proletariat in Iran and a film that is given added realism by a cast that is predominantly made up of non-actors.

Video

Mohammad Davudi`s cinematography is superb and a major feature of the film and is not let down by the beautiful anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer. From the bright white of the snow to the dimly-lit interior shots, everything is well-defined and sharp.

Audio

The Dolby Stereo Farsi (Persian) soundtrack is nice and clear and, if like me, your Farsi isn`t exactly fluent, the subtitles are clear, easy to read and free from spelling and grammatical errors.

Features

The interview with Rafi Pitts is a comprehensive and informative piece, performing the same task as a commentary, as he sits and talks through the making of the film.

The biography of Rafi Pitts is brief, but tells you all you really need to know.

Conclusion

Whilst not depressing, `It`s Winter` is a bleak film which doesn`t fall into the trap of showing hope where there isn`t any, yet there is enough human emotion on show to break the daily misery of the characters: a smile or a moment of embarrassment is enough to show that these are real people, real events and not caricatures. Rafi Pitts may not have set out to make a political film, but the circumstances his characters are in, and the association between employment and masculinity, with seemingly no welfare state, `It`s Winter` shows you a side of Iran that the news never will.

The use of non-actors was an inspired decision and putting Iranian film icon Mitra Hajjar with her fans ensured the right reactions to the character of Khatoun: when she accuses Marhab of following her, his shyness and embarrassment are real, as he has just come face to face with one of Iran`s leading actresses for the first time! Similarly, casting mechanics as mechanics added to the realism of the performances as they are able to, with Pitts, adapt the lines and insert elements from their own lives to the dialogue.

Iranian cinema is on the rise and, if this remarkable film is anything to go by, I`m all for it.