Over There

Abdolreza Kahani

Iran, Islamic Republic of

Synopsis

A young man has only ten days in order to return to the U.S. to renew his green card but he can't exit the country because of marital problems with his wife.

REVIEW

Don't be misled into thinking you've begun watching a straightforward story here, an urban tale of marital jealousy, Iran-style, something that will work out in the end and leave you feeling, well, a bit flat. Granted, this plot hinges on Peyman's dilemma. Peyman is caught between a deadline for returning to the United States, which, if he misses it, will cost him his Green Card, and his wife's demand that (although he has no money) he repay her "marriage portion" because he has been unfaithful. (He hasn't.) Peyman agonizes. First, he agonizes over the fact that Leila (his wife) is miserable, jealous and angry as all get out. Second, he agonizes over her demand that they dissolve their union (which is what the marriage portion repayment will evidently guarantee). Thirdly, he agonizes over how to get enough money to pay this marriage portion.

A composer/pianist, Peyman has been living in Iran with his wife for as long as his Green Card will allow-a limited time, time with a limit. To make a living, he's been teaching piano. Leila also works in music, for a record company. Thus music, which of course marks time, is an underlying theme. It takes on added significance when Peyman encourages a young piano student to pursue her deepest joy, which is not piano but painting. He encourages her to choose what she loves, and yet she continues her piano lessons. Here already is a clue to Peyman's own story, but you won't get it, can't possibly get it, just yet.

More blatantly, Peyman is counting the days until his departure deadline. He turns the pages on his desk calendar and writes how many days are left. When the people around him begin counting the days with him, his father says that this day-counting has become an epidemic. Counting time is not music, then, but a communal disease.

As the film rolls on, its black and white cinematography offers subtleties of perception that echo the subtleties that begin to appear in the narrative. Of course this is always also a story of choosing between Iran and the United States. Or between love and possibility. Or between the past and the future. And now we're back to counting time.

Watch this one until the end. Count whatever you choose. No matter what that is, this thought-provoking film will surprise you.

-Beverly Allen