The Recess (2020) User Reviews

A perfect short film

[nanditad · 7/10 · 16 May 2021]

"The Recess" fits into a perfect short film, second-to-none. The director's effort to take the film near reality is very much commendable. Iranian cinema always plays a significant role in cinema on a global scale. "The Recess" is inspired by a true story which touched the whole world. It embraces womanhood. The tragic self-immolation of the Iranian Sahar Khodayari 'Blue Girl' was furious. Director Navid Nikkhah Azad develops the narrative in a subtle way. The setting of the story is masterfully depicted. The dialogues suggests the hard challenges and difficult choices that women face in everyday life in Iran. To cut the long story short, the film is masterfully-made and the actresses give superb performances.

Sahar Khodayari; a dream died...

[rayehebsedqi · 8/10 · 19 May 2021]

"The Recess" is a short film inspired by a bitter tragedy happened to the main character, and based on an unfair law written for women in Iran. The film has a brilliant opening, and a believable ending. The ending could be more touching, though. One can sympathize with the main character. Each moment of "The Recess" challenges the audience more. To cut the long story short, the film has the potential to develop into a narrative feature film.

A worth-watching drama

[maadaraaneh · 7/10 · 21 May 2021]

The Recess talks about one of the most provocative issues happened in Iran, the self-immolation of Sahar Khodayari, for trying to enter a public stadium in Iran. Now, through the passage of time, almost the issue is forgotten. The strong point of The Recess is developing a different point of narrative which does not focus on the self-immolation, and the tragic incident. Rather, it talks about the dream of schoolgirl to attend the football stadium to watch the match of her beloved team. The performances from the ensemble cast of newcomers are believable, and at some point brilliant. The dialogues were smart, but the viewer could follow the story better if there was not dialogues for every scene, and more scenes without dialogues would be appreciated. The film looks professional and the directing and cinematography are in accordance with each other. There is no music all through the film except for the ending scene, and the piece written by music composer Mikhail Shmatenko is touching and uplifting. The film editing from Golden Leopard winner of Locarno International Film Festival (1996) Vahid Nikkhah Azad is almost flawless, and the viewer focus perfectly on the development of the story. The film ends with the main character leaving school to attend the football stadium, and with the captions presented to give the viewer awareness about who Sahar Khodayari was, and how she died. The texts are very much bitter and make the audience filled with sadness, but the music is a piece of hope, and let the audience forget about the bitterness, and hope for a better world. In one word, the film may not be a masterpiece, but definitely is worth watching.

Must to watch

[alipourtanaz · 10/10 · 16 May 2021]

This movie was one of the best films I have ever seen, especially as a women it was very understandable for me. And of course, choosing the name of the movie was one of the intellectual and best names that could be chosen. I think everyone "must" see "The Recess".

A Short Film of High Value

[raminvahidzadeh · 10/10 · 20 May 2021]

"The Recess" is a short film of high value that gives the audience a good understanding of a tragic story based on true events; a true story with a missing point of beginning, a story no one knows the real facts behind it.

The movie puts emphasis and stress on the smallest details of a sensitive situation. The dialogues between the four students (Sahar, Aida, Tahoora and Sara) are perfectly written, which is unparalleled among Iranian short films, for being so realistic.

Director Navid Nikkhah Azad intentionally does not show the real tragedy which happened after school, and this makes the audience not to lose the image of the tragic self-immolation of Sahar Khodayari (Blue Girl) even for a single moment.

Even those who have never heard of the tragic incident, can perfectly understand the movie and sympathize with the main character. The viewer is presented with texts explaining that Sahar Khodayari was caught, and later on, a possible sentence of six months in prison awaited her and to protest her sentence, she self-immolated until she eventually died from her injuries.

Good short film

[reyhanehgodinii · 10/10 · 25 May 2021]

This film shows all the love and interest of Iranian girls for football, as well as their difficulties and hardships to go to the stadium, in a small classroom space, using different characters and dialogues that are exchanged between them. It deals exactly with the truth of this story and there is no exaggeration in it that wants to arouse the audience's feelings more than his intellect and thinking. The film has the right atmosphere and, if it was possible to continue the film until Sahar Khodayari enters the stadium, it would have been more interesting.

Iran must welcome "Blue Girl"s of its own society

[nasrintajeran · 10/10 · 1 August 2021]

As an Iranian female audience of the short film "The Recess" directed by Navid Nikkhah Azad, I can say that "Blue Girl" is the example of an Iranian woman who is caught between the norms and abnormalities of the society which are imposed on her by culture,society, family or even her friends. This can be found repeatedly in everyday life of Iranian women, and reminds us to move on and to go forward in the direction of the the voice of our destiny. The Iranian society should also get past this and welcomes "Blue Girl"s of its own land. Personally, I enjoyed watching this "The Recess" and I thank the director for it.

An admirable film

[marziyefeyli · 10/10 · 24 July 2021]

"The Recess" with a social theme is a spectacular and admirable film. The story of the film is based on the story of the death of Sahar Khodayari, an Iranian girl who is very interested in football and has decided to enter Azadi Stadium with all the obstacles she faces. The story of the film takes place in a girls' school and takes place hours before Sahar's arrest. "The Recess" is a professional film and the actors in the film show good acting. "The Recess" leaves a deep sadness and regret in the audience and is a story about the lives of people who in the face of obstacles and borders, make changes in society through their actions.

Recess

[hilariouse-19169 · 7 September 2021]

What a recess it was for the "Blue Girl", the one that lead her to death. The film "Recess" perfectly shows the purity of a dream which turned to be a crime that ruined a girl's life. This short minuts was the long long story of every day life of lots of girls in the Middle East, inequality, limits and fears. Thanks to Navid Nikkhah Azad and all his crews that present this tragedy in a perfect and atristic way.