THE RAPTURE Reviewed by David House
This film opens with Lydia rushing home with a birthday cake, only to be greeted by her partner Julien telling her that he had slept with another woman last night.
Tearfully, she dashes off from this breakup scene to a birthday party for Salome, her best friend. At the party Salome and Lydia escape to the bathroom where Salome reveals that she has just discovered that she is pregnant. In just a few minutes the film has moved from heartbreak to happiness, and the roller coaster of emotions is off and running.
While all of this is happening there is a voiceover explaining it all to us, from an as of yet unknown male character. Lydia is a midwife in Paris and there are many beautiful births shown during her working hours. After work she wanders the streets by herself and rides the bus alone. The voiceover mentions several events, and at one point says “all of this came out in the trial”. Now our curiosity is really piqued. To say any more would spoil your adventure in watching The Rapture. Suffice it to say that this is a wonderfully constructed film that completely draws you in and keeps you guessing, and sometimes right on the edge of your seat. Hafsia Herzi, the lead actress playing Lydia, is absolutely terrific. This is the debut effort of writer/director Iris Keltenback, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
This a story about loneliness, and secrets and lies, about connections and trust, and madness.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” –
(Sir Walter Scott, 1808)
TERRESTRIAL VERSES Reviewed by Arash Taheri
Terrestrial Verses
Awards
Anonimul International Independent Film Festival
2023 Winner Anonimul Throphy
Best Feature Film
Alireza Khatami (director)Ali Asgari (director)
LIFFE – Leskovacki Festival Filmske Rezije
2023 Winner Jury Prize
Best Script
Alireza Khatami (Writer)Ali Asgari (Writer)
Terrestrial Verses is a film that portrays the livelihood of ordinary people living in Tehran, Iran.
The film has a unique approach in telling each person’s story. Even though every segment is different from another they all point to a common theme, and that is people versus government institutions and the obstacles that are implemented by the state. Each vignette is shot without any camera movement or any cut which keeps the attention of the audience throughout the film. Terrestrial Verses enables the viewer to look at the predicament of these characters in a different way, without dramatization. This factor adds an observational element to the story.
The film’s ending goes beyond its borders, which makes the viewer wonder how many more similar stories like the ones shown, exist among the people living there? Enduring all these restrictions that may stop one, from having a normal life, or in other words the freedom to do what your heart desires, while everything collapses around you?