Crimson Gold (2003)

Director: Jafar Panahi

 This film is Iran's Taxi Driver. Or maybe it is Iran's The Wire. Who knows, I just wanted to start this off with a hyperbolic generalized statement to get your attention, and now I have it. The point is that Taxi Driver is one of my favorite films of all time, and The Wire is one of my favorite television shows of all time and so I don't compare to them lightly. But I won't compare them, because this is because this film is a masterpiece in its own right. It is a movie that reveals the motives of those "second-class" citizens who are quietly fuming at the world. The lead character in this film is so tired of being treated like he is not as important as other humans who have more money. But in the film he is not asking to be rich, he is just asking for respect, and his anger represents so many around the world.

His realization over the course of the movie of how tragically static his situation really is shows how society as a whole, and not just in Iran, can be unfair to those who may not have the money necessary to have their voice heard. There is much dread in the film, because we know from the opening flash-forward in which he is involved in a robbery gone wrong that this will be a tragic story. But that dread adds poetry and meaning to the rest of the film. The lead performance is one that is very subdued, all of his feelings are deep inside and he never ever shows them. His anger is slowly boiling to the top, but we only know this because we know his sad final actions. Crimson Gold is quiet and angry at the same time. Written by the great Abbas Kiarostami, the screenplay has the subtle characterizations that he is known for, always keeping the audience just enough at bay. Director Jafar Panahi adds his trademark social critique and sense of social justice. Both of them team up to make a film that has a flawless sense of character, justice, class, and emotion.

Grade: A