A still from the movieDirector: Reza Mirkarimi
Duration: 103 minutes
What I love most about Iranian films are their simplicity. Most of those Iranian films, like Children of Heaven or Color of Paradies or, the more recent, The Salesman, beautifully depict complex human emotions simple and pure. Whether it's revenge or love or innocence, these filmmakers just play it simple. Dokhtar (Daughter) by Reza Mirkarimi, winner of the Golden Peacock award at the 2016 International Film Festival of India and Best film prize in the competition of 38th Moscow International Film Festival, is just another example.
The film basically talks about a father-daughter relationship. The strict and traditional Azizi, who is the father of two daughters, leads an uneventful family life in the city of Abadan, in south of Iran, known for oil. Azizi is a respected manager at a refinery. He is tough and arrogant; both at work place and at home.
The story is about this arrogant father and his younger daughter, Setareh, who wants to travel to Tehran, the capital city of Iran, to meet some friends. But her father doesn't want her to travel to Tehran alone and there is no one to accompany Satareh as it is in the same week her sister getting engaged. Setareh's efforts to win mother's support also go in vain as nothing can stand Azizi's authority.
The story is about this arrogant father and his younger daughterHowever, she wins the trust of her mother and sister, and decides to travel to Tehran without her father's consent. Setareh flies to the capital city hoping to make it back on time. The second part of the movie happens in Tehran. She meets her friends at an ordinary cafe. They all ate, chatted and drove back to Tehran airport to see off Setareh on time. But the flight got canceled due to bad whether at Abadan. As Azizi came to know about his daughter's disobedience, he drove to Tehran without wasting a second to take back Setareh. And that journey takes Azizi to unexpected events as he eventually meets his only sister, who long back fought Azizi for her freedom and left him for good. The first part of the movie shows Azizi as an arrogant father, while the second part shows his good sides.
The movie talks about a number of issues like constant conflict between tradition and modernity, the society's stand against woman's freedom, and authoritarianism among men. However, the good part is that it doesn't try to judge the father or the daughter or the sister.
The long conversation of Setareh and her friends about freedom, their struggles in a traditional society and their aspirations about the future gives you a glimpse of women's struggle in Iran, post Islamic revolution. While the encounter between Azizi and his sister, Farzaneh, opens the door to the real face of Azizi, it also sheds light on the real reason why he's scared to let Setareh or his other daughter have their freedom. The film has an open ending with the director suggesting no solution to their problems.
