Goodbye [Be Omid E Didar] (Rasoulof, 2011)

[shariqq]

Goodbye (Be Omid E Didar)
Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran | 2011
104 min

A ponderous movie that tests your patience to the brink. Goodbye is about a woman who is trying to get her papers in order to leave Iran. The director does a tremendous job in how he captures the plight of the woman, and the details that go into making the tale as realistic as possible. It is even shot very well - some scenes (many of them just a single take) leave you staring in amazement at how well they are done, especially the angle of choice for some of the shots. Yet, even for its short 104 minutes runtime, the director takes his time, using a deliberate pace that makes the movie seem much longer. The narrative is also fragmented, leaving you to piece the details together. This may have worked in favor of the movie, if only the director reined in his formal ponderous approach.

My Rating --> 2.5 of 5

[X.]

I am a huge Rasoulof fan (IRON ISLAND is a masterpiece; WHITE MEADOWS is a stunning follow-up), so am extremely envious you got to see this!

Rasoulof is interested in specificity for the visual design of his films, and I am not surprised to read your comments.

[kaytee]

The movie had pacing issues, but was intriguing from the start as it just kept giving subtle hints along the way of what to expect in the end. There is no big revelation at the end of the film but the a stark reality of sad state of affairs that is prevalent in Iran. This could well have been the directors personal struggle or experience when in jail.

[X.]

Rasaoulof uses a lot of visual symbolisms in his formally constructed films. Is GOODBYE more in the cinema verite style?

[fizz]

Good Bye is, in my opinion, one of the strongest film so far into the festival. For approach and directorial technique alone it deserves a watch. It's not cinema verite as much as it's static, pre-thought placement of camera from a vantage point of view. More when I hopefully get to write about it.

[X.]

I'm glad to hear that Rasoulof has not changed his formalist style. Look forward to your review.

[madali]

I havent seen this, but I'm not surprised with Shariq's comments. I've seen his "Iron Island", and my complaint were the same. It felt like it was too long.

[X.]

IRON ISLAND is absolutely riveting, in my opinion. I was sucked in by its elegiac mood and fascinating story. Also very clever as a political satire.

[fizz]

A lawyer barred from practicing and expecting a child, goes through enormous government bureaucracy in her quest to obtain a visa to leave Iran. Under the formalist direction of Mohammad Rasoulof, the film is executed as a collection of brilliantly composed static shots and dialogues that unravel scene by scene to add up to an intriguing whole.

When we first meet the protagonist Noora, we know very little about her or her precarious situation. She visits clinics regularly (the first scene has her taking a blood test), followed by rounds of government institutions and a shady travel agent, who is assisting her with the paperwork required to obtain the visa. Her husband is nowhere to be seen and she tells everyone that after he lost his job at the newspaper, he went to the South for work.

In all of these situations Noora is constantly reminded about Iran’s patriarchal society where women need the company of male counterparts to either rent a hotel or undertake potentially risky tests at hospitals. Under Rasoulof’s observant direction, the significance of many scenes isn’t as obvious as when we see them at first. Noora for example gets on a train and spends the next few minutes with the camera focused on her standing inside, then reaching for her nail polish remover and working her nails. The realization of why she does this only becomes apparent in the next scene when we see her at the lawyers office, a government institution that would probably shun women in makeup. The rest of the film is made in the same vein, as a collection of brilliantly composed static shots where the camera’s unmoving gaze provides a vigilant perspective and whose position has been well thought out to provide the best vantage possible. These combine with tight crops to make Noora feel enclosed and subjugated.

To put things into perspective, it is important to note that the director was sentenced, along with fellow filmmaker Jafar Panahi, to six years in prison and slapped with a ban on making films or leaving the country. While this was later overturned and the director was free to travel, the film feels like a subtle act of defiance and one scene in particularly, where Noora is interrogated by plain clothes secret police when she gets into her apartment elevator and forced to travel up and down floors while the men ask probing questions about her activist husband, create a sense of personal despair. Even the symbolism of Noora’s pet turtle, which disappears one day from the house, after being shifted from its cracked aquarium to an open tray, serves to underscore the acts of subterfuge all around her. Subdued in its approach but leaving an enormous impact, especially during its closing moments, Good Bye is made extraordinary thanks to the films unique technique of being constructed as a puzzle where every scene and each dialogue fits together to form the whole.  

Rating: 4.5/5

[X.]

Mad, do you have the inside scoop on the *real living conditions* of Janahi and Rasoulof? I've read reports that they are basically free to do what they like, within limits set by the Iranian government (which includes travel ban, not speaking to the media, etc).

Thanks for the review, Fizz. Can't wait to see GOODBYE.

[fizz]

The travel ban has been lifted...Rasoulof was in Dubai for the screening.

Regarding Panahi - we just returned from a screening of This is not a Film. It was pure magic. More in the individual thread for that film.

[X.]

You saw both GOODBYE and THIS IS NOT A FILM? Well, may be there is redemption for DIFF 2011 after all...

When you get a moment, post some of Rasoulof's comments from the Q&A. I have a burning desire to shake the man's hand if I ever get the pleasure to see him.

[madali]

Considering DIFF is showing the films of those two directors, I'm almost guessing subtle political influence. They could have shown "The Separation of Nader and Simin" instead, which is more of a social movie, then yet another liberal criticism on Iran's government, like this film seems to be.

[fizz]

You say both GOODBYE and THIS IS NOT A FILM? Well, may be there is redemption for DIFF 2011 after all...

When you get a moment, post some of Rasoulof's comments from the Q&A. I have an urgent desire to shake the man's hand if I ever get the pleasure to see him.

We unfortunately did not stay for the Q&A because it was a day of back to back screenings. This is not a film has been the real find of this festival - a film all of us will cherish and non will forget.

[fizz]

Considering DIFF is showing the films of those two directors, I'm almost guessing subtle political influence. They could have shown "The Separation of Nader and Simin" instead, which is more of a social movie, then yet another liberal criticism on Iran's government, like this film seems to be.

Both of these films, beyond being subtle criticism's of the Iranian government, are also the director's personal backlash. They were sentenced and as reasonable, thinking, intelligent artists, this was their response. I think they have every right to exercise their artistic license and therefore DIFF is within its purview to screen their films, agenda or no agenda.

A separation already played at Abu Dhabi Film festival (we couldn't see it due to scheduling conflicts and watched the very excellent We need to talk about Kevin instead).