Films Push the Envelope at MFA/Boston's Iran Film Fest

There is a bit of bias here in that this writer has an unabashed affinity for Iranian films, but that doesn't detract from the fact that MFA's Boston Festival of Films from Iran is one of numerous niche festivals of quality that the indispensable arts institution offers throughout the year. From the quiescent "Risk of Acid Rain" to the whimsical "316", this festival tackles both the pleasures and pains of contemporary Iran in a variety of tones and modes. Here's a review of three sure bets - dramas with humanistic comedic flourishes that in either a minor or major way mock the actions of leaders allowed too much power.

For cinephile favorite, Jafar Panahi, even the act of making a film is countering the regime, as he has been forbidden from filmmaking by the authorities. Still, he finds ways. "This is Not a Film", his previous piece of clandestine cinema, unfolded in his abode and showed him receiving guests and planning a production. This time around, with "Taxi", the action unfolds almost entirely inside his private car that he uses as an impromptu cab to navigate the streets of Tehran in service of a dynamic series of citizens going about their business. ("Taxi" screens on January 27.)

Part of the fun is the ambiguity around what is staged and what isn't. From discussions about the travails of grade school filmmaking with his spoiled-yet-endearing niece to co-customers bickering about the ethics of hooliganism and the death penalty, it all feels quite natural - a deceptively simple snapshot of Tehran's denizens on the move. And Panahi is remarkably at ease with everyone who passes through his cab, his smile unwavering in the face of snippety older women demanding to be delivered to a far flung destination in time to fulfill an arcane spiritual ritual, a curiously familiar and cloying businessman, and a medical emergency. Perhaps only an intellectual taking on this duty for a delimited period of observing and capturing could remain so good-natured.

It seems appropriate to describe the film as deceptively simple because on the surface it is just a candid camera captured account of an amateur cabbie navigating a sprawling city and the particular demands of his customers. But the exchanges are chock full of social commentary, so that the thread connecting them is effortlessly enthralling in spite of the markedly mundane nature of the bulk of the drama that fills its minutes. The dashboard camera is acknowledged by certain passengers, and Panahi is acknowledged as a filmmaker forbidden from his craft, so that it is an extremely self-conscious project - but in a way that is honest and unpretentious, pared down and clever.

"Atomic Heart" (aka "Atom Heart Mother") also unfolds largely inside a car driven by transgressive types. In this case, two hip young women are on a delicious misadventure trying to return home from a party. ("Atomic Heart" screens on January 28 and 29.)

Equipped with copious quips and gummy worms, Arineh and Nobahar are still in party mode when a series of encounters with men of dubious intentions begins to derail their frivolous mood. First, a self-important, politicized acquaintance provides a bit of amusement and sardonic cultural commentary (memorably opining on the Iranian origins of the so-called Western toilet) when they find him braving the air pollution on foot. There's nothing threatening in him, but he contributes to the complexity when the women then cause a collision of cars, a reasonable result of their predilection for barreling down a particular highway going the wrong direction. This is the sort of quirk that colors these privileged partyers.

A sleek gentleman (think a young Persian George Clooney) offers to divert conflict by paying off the driver of the other car in the accident; little do the women know that accepting his help will come back to haunt them in a major way. In the meantime, a rather intrusive and idiotic cop ups the tension by riding along with them and laying on the interrogation. Why are they returning from a circumcision party at this time of night? Why do they have a copy of "Argo", a film that imagines Iran unfavorably? So, when the sleek benefactor re-emerges, the film has already begun to be infused with a sense of foreboding. But soon the established ebullience takes a turn into the absurd and surreal. The persistent stranger is accompanied by an unconscious man he claims is Saddam Hussein, whose elusive weapons of mass destruction are being safely stockpiled in another dimension. Where is this man (devil?) leading them, and will they have to cross the highway-side portal to another dimension just to escape the interminable odd dream their journey home has turned into?

If you think the nebulous nocturnal navigating of "Atomic Heart" makes for a tense journey, "The President" is going to leave you brilliantly tormented. Also dealing in allegory to jab at repressive regimes (in the particular or the general, however you want to view it), this exquisite drama follows the desperate attempt of a fallen dictator to escape to the sea with his grandson in tow so that a boat can safely deliver them to the exile that the rest of the family elected when the coup d'etat first erupted. Like Jafar Panahi, director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is a big name in Iranian cinema, but instead of working around a production ban domestically, he works from exile in Afghanistan. This gorgeous film was shot in Georgia but is set in an unnamed country.

The trouble begins when the president is priming his trained-to-be-imperious grandson in the ways of power by demonstrating that the entire city's power can be switched on and off with a mere phone call by either one of them. When the lights remain off the third time the request is made, a furious insurrection is initiated. The narrative is notable for being from the perspective of the despot, but the tone that it strikes is truly remarkable and thoroughly enjoyable. Humane and absurd, audiences concurrently sympathize with the president's plight to protect the boy - if not his self-preservation instinct - and with the bloodthirsty masses finally seething after years of government abuse.

Towards the beginning of their fleeing through the countryside, their limo is surrounded by sheep - an image that wonderfully captures the absurdity of their situation and portends the violent stripping away of their power and privilege. Updates of the ever-increasing bounty on their heads issue from the radios of citizens who harbor the maligned fugitives, usually unknowingly (it's hard to imagine a president squeaking by with such meager disguise but they manage for quite awhile, fooling a prostitute who served him years ago as well as political prisoners who were tortured under his command). There are hints of reflection as the president is thrust into intimacy with ordinary people who openly espouse their animosity for the president while revealing their vulnerabilities to him as an unknown, but he also remains obstinate. The real emotional impact is in following the toll this harsh transition has on the boy as his brattiness is disengaged and his childhood innocence is engaged. Witnessing the debasement of the corrupt elite certainly has its rewards, but the film reminds us of the complexity of retribution, particularly in the roiling finale.

The Boston Festival of Films from Iran continues through January 31 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Visit visit the MFA website for the full schedule.