Baran (2001)

Director:

Majid Majidi

Writer:

Majid Majidi (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 2002 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Kurdish worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Construction | Construction Site | Iran | Construction Worker | Unrequited Love

Awards:

13 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Hossein Abedini	...	Lateef
Zahra Bahrami	...	Baran
Mohammad Amir Naji	...	Memar
Hossein Mahjoub	...	Bric-A-Brac Trader
Abbas Rahimi	...	Soltan
Gholam Ali Bakhshi	...	Najaf
Jafar Tawakoli	...	Inspector
Yadollah Hedayati	...	Lors workers' chief
Parviz Larijani	...	Shop owner
Mahmoud Behraznia	...	Building Contractor
Pasha Barabadi	...	Inspector
Kamal Parto	...	Inspector
Maghsood Moghadan	...	Turkish workers' chief
Peiman Daraian	...	Building Engineer
Mohammadollah Dad	...	Middleman in the Bazar

Also Known As:

Hamsay-e khoda (Iran: Persian title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and brief violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Iran

Language:

Dari | Persian

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Malaysia:U | Hungary:14 | New Zealand:PG | South Africa:PG | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Company:

Fouad Nahas

Trivia:

Selected as Iran's submission in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2001 Oscars.

A Touching Film

Baran is the story of an Iranian construction worker, Latif, who is not really doing his job - he serves tea and food to the rest of the workers, managing to avoid the really hard work. He is at first a hot-tempered, selfish youth - but then, 'Rahman', an illegal Afghanistan imigrant, comes to work. He is a young, weak worker, and is at once put in Latif's job - and Rahman does a better job, too. Jealous and angry, Latif tries to make life miserable for his new adversary... until he accidentally discovers that 'Rahman' is not a boy - 'Rahman' is 'Baran', a woman.

Latif, who even though used to be a careless youth, always had a soft, romantic spot in his heart - and when he realizes Baran is a woman, he falls in love with her. He seeks to protect and help her, and his entire life is slowly and surely changed for the better because of her.

Many people have critisized this film, saying it's poorly acted, the script is badly written, etc. Please remember: this is not a Hollywood movie! This movie is not in the least bit American, therefore the viewer needs to be open minded to the different culture of Iranian cinema. Baran never says a single word in the entire film. 'BARAN' is a beautiful romantic drama filled with angst and stunning visual scapes. I give it 8 out of 10 stars.