Director: Bahman Ghobadi

Starring: Ismail Ghaffari, Golshifteh Farahani, Allah-Morad Rashtian

Ghobadi is an acclaimed director on the festival circuit, a remarkable talent who is sadly largely unknown to the wider cinema-going public. In this piece he brings to life remote or forgotten issues with significant cinematic grace.

The story revolves around Mamo, a musician and composer who is approaching the end of his life and wishes to make his one last concert in the now liberated Iraqi Kurdistan. With the help of his dear friend, who drives a bus around the mountainous region of Iranian Kurdistan to collect Mamo’s sons, all of them musicians, they set out to Iraq for one final concert…

The recurring theme of death is represented through Mamo’s daydreaming, and embodied in the figure of Niwemang, the angel of death. As Mamo lies in his grave and sees Niwemang dragging his coffin along the snow, a sense of magic realism pervades the film; the image of death becomes rather mystified and beautiful. A clear parallel is drawn as the idea of a glorious and free Kurdistan is embodied by the protagonist, who is stuck at Half Moon, that is in between recognition and end. This is further highlighted by the fragile border between Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan, a crumbling wall made out of rocks, easy to cross if not for the invisible gunman. As Mamo incites his family to walk on the border, the message is made comically apparent.

The lively rhythms and chronic misadventure of the protagonists make the recurrent themes of death and ending part of a joyful voyage. The film is rich in metaphors, although the many layers of meaning do not dertract from this bizarre spectaclem, enhanced by music, comedy and family gatherings.

A novel and insightful work: accessible to all despite its weight of cultural references. 5/5