Niwemang (2006)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Bahman Ghobadi

Writers:

Behnam Behzadi (co-scenarist)
Bahman Ghobadi (writer)

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Plot:

Mamo, an old and legendary Kurdish musician living in Iran, plans to give one final concert in Iraqi Kurdistan...

Plot Keywords:

Kurdistan | Musician | Iran | Kurdish | Kurdish Music

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Golshifteh Farahani	...	Niwemang
Ismail Ghaffari	...	Mamo
Allah-Morad Rashtian
Hedye Tehrani	...	Hesho (as Hedieh Tehrani)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kambiz Arshi
Sadiq Behzadpoor
Reza Haj Khosravi
Mohamad Nahid
Hassan Pourshirazi
Ali Ashraf Rezai
Farzin Saboni
Bahram Zarei

Also Known As:

Half Moon (Canada: English title) (festival title) (UK) (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

USA:107 min | Canada:114 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Austria | France | Iran | Iraq

Language:

Kurdish | Persian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Kurdistan

Company:

Mij Film Co.

Slow but enjoyable

Also known as Half Moon this film is a road movie in which a number of Kurdish musicians living in Iran plan to travel to Iraqi-Kurdistan to give a concert. It starts with gathering the players of the band in a small town in Iran and then travels on by bus through the battered lands.

As expected from a road movie a number of things happens to the travelers and there is a nice balance between some mild comedy and some drama. Nothing of what happens is entirely out of touch and with that the film (or better said, the bus) rolls on with the gentle speed of a backwater river.

All in all, a pleasant but slow way to spend an evening, watching the adventures of a band of elder musicians on their way through life.

7 out of 10 faithful musicians