Badkonake sefid (1995)

Director:

Jafar Panahi

Writers:

Abbas Kiarostami (writer)
Jafar Panahi (original idea)

Release Date:

27 November 1995 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Fish | Goldfish | Iranian | Little Girl

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Aida Mohammadkhani	...	Razieh
Mohsen Kafili	...	Ali
Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy	...	Mother
Anna Borkowska	...	Old Lady
Mohammad Shahani	...	Soldier
Mohammed Bakhtiar	...	Tailor
Aliasghar Smadi	...	Balloon Seller
Hamidreza Tahery	...	Reza
Asghar Barzegar	...	Pet Shop Manager
Hasan Neamatolahi	...	Snake Charmer
Bosnali Bahary	...	Snake Charmer
Mohammadreza Baryar	...	Client in Tailor's Shop
Shaker Hayely	...	Tailor's Assistant
Homayoon Rokani	...	Street Singer / Dancer
Mohammad Farakani	...	Shop Keeper

Also Known As:

The White Balloon (USA)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Unrated | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Company:

Ferdos Films

Trivia:

The film unfolds in real time.

A good allegory on Iranian society.

My neighbor loaned my this film on Video CD format, which made the film somewhat hard to see and the subtitles hard to read because of the low bit rate. The copy I was loaned was apparently from Singapore or Hong Kong.

But anyway, to the film. A young girl is given money to satisfy a personal desire for a pet. But during her journey she runs into a cross section of Persian society, each representing a faction or layer of Iranian social strata, and their effect and demands on the young generation, and specifically the unempowered female population.

A plethora of individuals are encountered. Whirling dervishes, a young soldier, a shop keeper, a father, a motherly woman who is not the main character's mother, a young brother and many more.

We're shown coded forms of communication regarding what each social faction demands and is preoccupies the thoughts and feelings of Iran's natives. I pride myself on being able to decipher such meaty films, but it did take a little bit to decode the inner message, but it's there.

Currently, as I write this, Iran's leadership still desires to pursue a nuclear weapon's program and to become a major influence in the Persian Gulf region. Including, but not limited to, assisting the insurgents in Iraq which our forces have fought, and have finally brought under control. Iran's leadership is posturing, but is fighting the aged old social conflict of a moderate middle populace becoming factionalized by misallocated resources. Can Iran continue to focus its domestic lens on the United States as a means of slight of hand to avoid its inner stresses and strains? Time will tell. This film doesn't hold the answer to any of those larger questions, but it does illustrate an interesting pastiche of what forces are pulling on Iran's society, and how half the population remain unimpowered because of a deliberate and manufactured reliance.

Otherwise it's a nice little film. A bit slow, well shot, and certainly more than meets the eye.

An interesting piece of political commentary disguised as a children's film.

Give it a whirl if you like foreign films.