Movie Reviews

‘A Hero’ Review – A Captivating Tale of When A Good Deed Goes Wrong

Synopsis:

Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don’t go as planned…

Words are more powerful than we think. A few misleading, seemingly innocent words can affect the trajectory of millions of lives, especially nowadays. They can cause fights, job loss, start riots, and get people killed. Not to mention, words can have you living a double life that you have no way of keeping up with. We’ve all told lies and tried to deceive others but as we now live in a time of virality, meaningless subterfuge can be seen by millions in an instant and take on a life of its own. Once you lose control of the narrative, the lies become more entertaining than the truth, and then no one wants to hear what’s actually real. It said that the truth will set you free, but that was before social media, photoshop, and the share button. What’s scarier is that once the lie is exposed, people have a tendency to double and not just the perpetrator of the deception but those who believed it. No one wants to be made a fool of so now the lie is the truth no matter what. It’s very unfortunate. If only we could realize that it’s easier to live and speak your truth, but that sounds too much like the right thing to do.

“What noble deed?”

Step into Iran, take in its culture and watch as a small lie turns into a colossal catastrophe. Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, A Hero is a captivating tale of when a good deed goes wrong. A Hero or Ghahreman is a story that is so specific that I think we can all relate to it. Initially feeling like a feel-good redemption story, it then progressively becomes a story that continuously spirals out of control, and whatever can go wrong, will. Delivered in the beautiful Persian language, we follow Rahim as he attempts to pay a debt in order to be completely released from prison. Right away there’s a culture shock, the story begins as Rahim is on a two-day leave from being locked up. Leave?! America would never. At least I’ve never heard of it here. Nevertheless, we become fully entrenched in the Iranian culture. From the sights and sounds, the food, to what they socially covet, we get a well-rounded idea of everyday life in the country. Now, the inceptive view of our protagonist is understandable desperation. No one wants to be in prison but does he belong there? It’s easy to write someone off that you deem a criminal, however, what if the circumstances were out of their control? Forcing you to pick a side, no matter where you land on the issue, you see the humanity in those you may disagree with.

The film does an immaculate job of telling the sympathetic story and putting the audience in Rahim’s shoes. Every moment of shame and every instance of happiness is felt deeply and jumps off the screen. You empathize with his plight, feel his pain, and want him to win. With many themes that make this film relatively more of a cognitive journey than anything else, it’s ultimately about family and honor. In a culture that values etiquette, tradition, and achievement among other things, family and honor appear to be the most important. That said, besides freedom, Rahim wants nothing more than to return to his family and restore his honor. The entire runtime, I continuously asked myself if I would make the same decisions. The film is shot incredibly well. There are two scenes, one at the beginning and one at the end, that involve a bus and I can’t get the symbolism out of my head. It is very well written and the cast did an amazing job. I’m convinced that Mohsen Tanabandeh really has a disdain for Amir Jadidi. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Its rewatchability is high.

Pacing & Pop

The film moves at an intriguing mystery-like pace. It’ll have you constantly asking yourself, what else can go wrong? What popped for me was being thrust into the Iranian culture. It’s amazing to see how other cultures differ from the ones you are accustomed to. From what people hold in high regard socially, how they interact with one another, down to how they treat prisoners, it is fascinating.

Characters & Chemistry

Starring: (Rahim) Amir Jadidi, (Bahram) Mohsen Tanabandeh, (Mme Radmehr) Fereshteh Sadrorafaii, (Farkhondeh) Sahar Goldoust, (Malileh) Maryam Shahdaie, (Hossein) Ali Reza Jahandideh, (Nadeali) Ehsan Goodarzi, (Nazanin) Sarina Farhadi, (Salehi) Farrokh Nourbakht, (Salehpoor) Mohammad Aghebati, (Siavash) Saleh Karimai

The cast did a phenomenal job of making this film an emotional rollercoaster. In particular, Amir Jadidi as Rahim clearly stood out. His performance elicits a wide range of emotions and can’t help but cheer him on. Also, Saleh Karimai as Siavash makes you want to cry.

A Hero is now streaming on Prime Video as of January 21, 2022. Stay safe and enjoy.