Retouch (I) (2017) User Reviews

morality, in short

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 9 October 2017]

Greetings again from the darkness. We all know the kind of guy who can't keep up with his cigarettes or find a tissue on his own. Instead he passes each burden, no matter how small, onto his wife … in this case, a wife whose life is hectic with her own job and the care of their toddler. In fact, it's as if she is raising two kids – one who is yet too young to speak, and another who is bearded and should be carrying half the load.

Iranian filmmaker Kaveh Mazzaheri's latest short film (18 minutes) shows how, in an instant of crisis, our morality and true feelings can surface. Whether we like what we see, or whether we can justify our actions, are the topics for debate raised by this film.

Maryam (Sonia Samjari) is preparing her young child for the day when the husband/father Siyavash (Mohammad Ziksari) calls out from the other room. He's had a weightlifting accident and his life hangs in the balance. We witness Maryam's moment of truth and how she proceeds to handle the fallout. Ms. Samjari displays true depth of character through minimal dialogue, instead having us interpret her facial expressions. The film offers up the common "what would you do?" approach, but in a most unique and jarring fashion.

Carefully paced, perhaps to a fault, but the lead actress pretty much sells it

[bob the moo · 2 June 2019]

Not wishing to say too much, this film features a woman faced with a moral dilemma and in essence making her call early in the film. From there we follow her through her day. It is a very slow paced film, and it does what it does with deft touches. It works well doing this, but there is a downside that if the little things aren't holding you, then probably it will feel overly long and padded out. It recently came online and I suspect that it is not the best place, even though it is a good film.

On first watching, I sort of wanted the film to give me more of a harsh base, so that I could understand why Maryam's struggle was not easy, however as I watched I appreciated that it didn't. It gave us small relatable things so that the film was never a done-deal or lacking conflict. Sanjari's performance carries the film, while also fitting well with its tone and pace. She gives a lot with small expressions - eye, jaw line etc, and it works well in the context of this restrained film.

I do think it is maybe too deliberate in how it plays it out with the pace and runtime, but it works as a whole.

cold blood. and more.

[Kirpianuscus · 27 June 2019]

A wife. His little daughter. His egocentric husband. An accident. And a decision. Bizarre, at the first sigh. Proof of cold blood. In essence, self defence. A film who must be see in the context of Iranian woman condition . Precise, well crafted, direct message, delicate constructed, giving the impression of mix of white and black, proposing the wise performance of Sonia Samjari as Maryam. A profound beautiful film.