Iron Island (2005)
"Jazireh ahani" (original title)

Squatters, mostly Arabs in Persia, live on a mothballed oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. The children attend a school on board; men harvest scrap metal and old oil in the hull; women keep ... See full summary »

Director:

Mohammad Rasoulof

Writer:

Mohammad Rasoulof

Stars:

Ali Nassirian, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh, Neda Pakdaman

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Ali Nassirian	...	Captain Nemat
Hossein Farzi-Zadeh	...	Ahmad
Neda Pakdaman	...	The girl

Storyline

Squatters, mostly Arabs in Persia, live on a mothballed oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. The children attend a school on board; men harvest scrap metal and old oil in the hull; women keep house and raise children. Captain Nemat runs things with an iron hand, orienting new residents, keeping the books, negotiating with new buyers who may want to scrap the ship, arranging things, keeping discipline. We follow a lad who rescues fish trapped in the hull, an old man who stares at the sun, the idealistic teacher, and Ahmad, the Captain's assistant who has fallen in love with a young woman whose father wants to marry her to someone of means. What future has this sinking city?

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Plot Keywords:

persian | ship | oil tanker | chalk | water torture | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

5 October 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Iron Island

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,093 (USA) (31 March 2006)

Gross:

$23,130 (USA) (28 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Farabi Cinema Foundation, Sheherazad Media International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Ship Ahoy! This one's sails big time

You will not find a better metaphorical study of Post-revolution Iran than this film, one so threatening that the Iranian authorities tossed famed director Rasoulof into the brig. A self-absorbed captain of a stalled and sinking ship runs his vessel like a clueless despot, ripping off hard-working but naïve passengers. Exploited onboard youth get meaningless education, and a lovelorn adolescent who bolts for a better life gets tortured, mostly to deter other kids. The lying captain inefficiently uses the scant ship resources, like steel and oil, and misapplies the proceeds to strand his impoverished subjects in an arid land. There is a bud of hope at the end, but like reality, if you blink you will miss it. AfroPixFlix drops a 10-forked anchor.