Iranian FF review - I'M NOT ANGRY! by Reza Dormishian

Love that lives is born to die and walks hand in hand with tragedy in this subtitled "free adaptation of Iran" and ironically titled I'm Not Angry! feature film by Reza Dormishian, which was screened at the 4th edition of the Festival of Iranian Film in Prague.
 
The film is seen from the paranoid and near schizophrenic point of view of the pill popping Navid, a young man that was expelled from his university for his political activism and opposition to the government. The only ray of life, in his mess of an exasperated life which culminates in bursts of anger he desperately tries to tame by repeating to himself the titular phrase, comes from his girlfriend Sudabeh. But when her father threatens to end the relationship between them and allows him just one more month to settle down and find the proper financial security, out of his frustrating stableness spirals a maddeningly desperate rollercoaster frenzy as he seeks ways to get rich or die trying. 
 
I'm Not Angry! is a vivid and violently engaging representation of modern Iran - the Iran of President Ahmadinejad's controversial election for a second term, in which people find themselves crippled with the impending fear of making ends meet. And, more precisely, it represents a young generation whose dreams are shattered, a young generation neglected and not given any opportunity to enjoy life or even, in this case fall in love. It is also a protest film that shows how crime can so easily be fuelled and encouraged in such an environment, though Navid looking for ways to reach his goal by reaching out mostly to criminals and petty thieves, despite it going against his morality. 

 

The aforementioned madness is also powerfully represented by the lead character's perspective, that is the driving force of the film, dictating its rhythm and perfectly translated by the great masterful work of editing which particularly shows in the unsettling moments when without warning we find ourselves in Navid's mind, as he pictures himself giving way to his bouts of anger and attacking the people he interact him and that represent living cul-de-sacs to his desperate mission. On this point, it is only fair to say that the exasperation experienced by Navid is intense because of the intense and forceful performance of its actor, Navid Mohammadzedeh, whose attempts at keeping it together are suspenseful and his portrayal of his role's fragility makes him a likeable everyday heroic figure.
 
Much can be said about the photography, saturated to show the heat in nightmarish psychedelia, with a rhythm conveyed by the jagged editing. The film is, hence, stylised, but not overtly so and faithful to its narrative and to its leading man's intentions. Yet, despite the obvious drama Dormishian - who wrote and directed the film - makes sure to throw his viewer off with a twisted and dark sense of humour. Humour, after all, has forever been in cinema as in art in general, a device that allowed accentuated impact in the most powerful of dramatic socio-political examinations.
 
This doomed race against time culminates in a cathartic ending that is, to a certain point to be expected due to the sequence that precedes the narrative's timeline. Yet, it would be a shame were it to be spoiled though rest assured that it is bound to spark debates wherever it may be shown, and be forwarned that in screenings of I'm Not Angry! in Iran it was cut out. I'm Not Angry has in fact been the subject of controversy in its homeland due to its forceful nature - and it's easy to see why. But its central love tragedy makes it universally appealing and understandable while is pacing makes it exciting throughout the whole of its duration.