List of Persian/Iranian Events for 2005-01-11

MIDDLE EAST FILM SERIES:

CRIMSON GOLD (Iran, 2003)
Directed by Jafar Panahi, Script by Abbas Kiarostami

(In Farsi with English subtitles)

Tuesday, Jan 11 at 7:30 PM
Assembly Room, Bechtel International Center,
Stanford Univ., Palo Alto, CA

All welcome!! Free admission!

Synopsis:
"Pizza and Despair in Tehran"
A man stands just inside the doorway of a posh jewelry shop, holding a gun and looking in bewilderment at the crowd gathering outside. Eventually he points the pistol at his head and kills himself. The man's name is Hussein.
Hussein is a regular guy down on his luck. He's an ex-soldier who was somehow injured, and now delivers pizza. He lives in a run down apartment, and only sees how the other upper class lives during his pizza deliveries. Each delivery brings a tantalizing glimpse into their spacious, opulent apartments that he will never be able to afford. Is it fair that he fought for his country, only to return and toil away his life for nothing while others have so much? Is this the perfect society the Islamic Revolution was supposed to create? His hulking taciturn presence grows more menacing, even as he is denied any sort of social recognition by a rich jeweller. Finally, in his despair and rage he robs the jeweller. But his bungled attempt proves neither escape nor redemption. A boldly conceptualized drama, a complex character study, and a gripping suspense thriller all in one by director Jafar Panahi (The Circle, White Balloon) and screen-writer Abbas Kiarostami (Ten, A Taste of Cherry)

Hosted by David Giovacchini, Middle East Collection, Stanford University Libraries

From: david giovacchini (dggiova@stanford.edu)