'Balloon' soars to cinematic heights
'Balloon' soars to cinematic heights
Iranian government asks Academy to withdraw film from Oscar contention
By Lael Loewenstein
Daily Bruin Staff
At first glance, "The White Balloon" is nothing more than the story of a little girl who wants desperately to buy a goldfish. But this extraordinary film by Iranian director Jafar Panahi is also a deeply complex story that works on a plurality of levels.
The Camera d'Or winner at Cannes (for the best first feature film by a director), "White Balloon" follows 7-year-old Razieh (Aida Mohammadkhani), whose biggest dream is to buy a fancy, multi-finned goldfish. With the help of her brother, Ali (Mohsen Kalifi), Razieh convinces her reluctant mother to give her the money for the fish, and the little girl ventures into downtown Tehran, marching defiantly toward the goldfish store.
We quickly learn that Tehran is no place for little girls. Before she can buy her fish, Razieh is drawn into a circle of snake charmers who nearly swindle her out of her bank note. She recovers the money, only to have it fall through a grate. Only when Ali arrives looking for her and eventually convinces an Afghan balloon seller to help them can Razieh recover her money - and buy her fish.
The towering achievement of "The White Balloon" is Jafar Panahi's direction, apparent throughout, but most evident in the snake charming sequence. With the camera planted firmly at Razieh's eye level, Panahi plays the scene for suspense and intimidation. Knowing she has ventured into a forbidden zone, little Razieh's reaction to the crafty snake charmers is a palpable mixture of terror and guilt. In its own way, this particular scene is as harrowing as any moment of torture, abuse or manipulation yet filmed.
Panahi never plays down to Razieh; he respects her and the magnitude of her predicament. He also carries off the impressive feat of making the adults' world seem far more chaotic and less logical than that of the children.
Beyond that, Panahi elucidates the injustices - sexual, cultural, political - in Iranian society. It's a world where children are forbidden from contradicting adults and where women are forbidden from addressing men. If the film is regarded as subversive, it must be for these reasons: Though it had been submitted as Iran's official contender for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, the Iranian government has asked that it be withdrawn from consideration. The Academy refused.
As Razieh, Aida Mohammadkhani is impressively natural. Whether knotting her brow or breaking into a radiant smile, she is sympathetic and lovely. In one scene, as she chats with a soldier while sitting on the grate where she's lost her money, she enacts a womanly gesture, spreading out her red, ruffled skirt on either side and pulling it delicately over her knees. The careful detail of that moment and the quiet strength of this film help make it a cinematic jewel.
This film gets an A.
Film: "The White Balloon." Directed by Jafar Panahi. Written by Abbas Kiarostami. Starring Aïda Mohammadkhani and Mohsen Kalifi. Opens today.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu
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