
Tales
Ghesse-ha
Directed by
Iran
2014
88 min
- Farsi
Drama
Toronto IFF - Contemporary World Cinema
Communication breakdowns and struggles for dignity punctuate the many elements of Rakhshan Banietemad’s trenchant new feature. From a bureaucrat who spouts inanities and ignores an elderly petitioner pleading for medical care to a group of factory workers kept from protesting the shutdown of their place of employment, the film brings together several distinct stories that add up to an overwhelming whole. Two of the segments, riffing on Kiarostami, take place in vehicles and involve long conversations fraught with meaning while another particularly tense section depicts an abusive husband demanding to see his wife. Misunderstandings, desperate acts and drug addiction are all portrayed with great compassion and an unflinching eye. With TALES, she sounds the alarm for the immense difficulties encountered by the working class—especially women—in Iran and assembles a cast of veteran actors including Golab Adineh, Mehdi Hashemi and Peiman Moadi. “There’s no decency here,' moans the old man to the bureaucrat mentioned above; hopefully, this film, by identifying and portraying societal problems in so refined and moving a manner, will go some way toward rectifying such circumstances for the future.
Awards
- Best Screenplay - Venice IFF
Festivals
Credits
- Cast
- Fatemah Motamedaria
- Peyman Moaadi
- Baran Kosari
- Farhad Aslani
- Mohammadreza Forootan
- Golab Adineh
- Screenplay
- Rakhshan Banietemad
- Farid Mostafavi
- Cinematography
- Koohyar Kalari
- Editing
- Sepideh Abdolvahab
- Music
- Siamak Kalantari
- Production
- KANOON IRAN NOVIN
- Sales
- NOORI PICTURES
Press
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The script excels at dialogue negotiating the male-female divide.

Rakhshan Banietemad
Iran
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad was born in Tehran and is considered by many to be Iran’s preeminent female filmmaker. Her work has tackled controversial issues such as the struggles single women face trying to earn a living in Iran. She began her career making documentaries for television before moving into narrative features, including THE BLUE-VEILED (1995), which won a Bronze Leopard at FF Locarno, and UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CITY (2001).