Baran (Persian: باران ) [Rain]Almost a silent movie, based on a book by the same name.
The movie is set during recent times in which there are a large number of Afghan refugees living on the outskirts of Tehran.
The movie is set during recent times in which there are a large number of Afghan refugees living on the outskirts of Tehran.
The movie is about maturing of the character Lateef and his silent romantic interests in an Afghan refugee, Baran, in the construction site where he works. It is necessary to describe the work force at the site to fully appreciate the movie. At the point the story is told, in 2001, there are many Afghan refugees in Iran due to the war with Russia and also due to the oppressive regime of Taliban. There are many Afghan refugees working at the site for far less wages than the Iranian workers. In Iran, the Afghan refugees are not allowed to stay anywhere except the refugee camps unless authorized and hence the Afghan workers need to travel everyday from the camp to the work site. The Afghan refugees also need authorization cards to work in the country but it is difficult to obtain. Hence many of the Afghans are working illegally which is depicted in the movie.
Lateef, who is an Iranian, is having an easy time at the construction site with the job of making tea and lunch. He always seems to be making witty remarks which are not taken by some of the other characters in a similar manner, especially Faraj. He is also shown to be very careful with his money and saves every single pocket money he gets. He is also shown to be intolerant towards doves. One day when Lateef comes to work he finds one of the Afghan workers, Najaf, has been injured and is being taken to the hospital. The next day, Najaf sends his son - Rahmat - to work, since he is unable to work with a broken leg and he has many children to take care of. Rahmat is a weakling and is unable to do to the heavy manual work at the construction site. Hence, the contractor, Memar, allocates Lateef's easy job to Rahmat and Lateef has to help with the construction of the building.
Lateef is sore about losing his comfy job and continuously torments Rahmat until he learns by accident that Rahmat is actually a girl. He is really sorry about his early acts and vehemently tries to be protective about Rahmat at the work site, trying to save her from Faraj and the inspectors. Memar is forced to lay off all his Afghan workers after an unfortunate incident and Lateef takes a leave to find out where Rahmat stays. There are many beautiful shots during his relentless attempts to find his love. He learns to be tolerant about doves and starts feeding the doves. He tries to give money to Rahamat's family to save them from their difficult times but it leads to Najaf's friend Sulton going back to Afghanistan. Lateef then sells his only possession, the authorization card to give Rahamat's family enough money to go back to Afghanistan (meanwhile he learns that Rahmat's real name is Baran). In the last scene, we see Lateef helping Najaf and Baran with the loading of their rented truck to Afghanistan. We can see the couple almost acknowledging their love through the rigid social structure in Iran. Baran, which literally translates to rain, falls while Baran leaves to Afghanistan.
Lateef, who is an Iranian, is having an easy time at the construction site with the job of making tea and lunch. He always seems to be making witty remarks which are not taken by some of the other characters in a similar manner, especially Faraj. He is also shown to be very careful with his money and saves every single pocket money he gets. He is also shown to be intolerant towards doves. One day when Lateef comes to work he finds one of the Afghan workers, Najaf, has been injured and is being taken to the hospital. The next day, Najaf sends his son - Rahmat - to work, since he is unable to work with a broken leg and he has many children to take care of. Rahmat is a weakling and is unable to do to the heavy manual work at the construction site. Hence, the contractor, Memar, allocates Lateef's easy job to Rahmat and Lateef has to help with the construction of the building.
Lateef is sore about losing his comfy job and continuously torments Rahmat until he learns by accident that Rahmat is actually a girl. He is really sorry about his early acts and vehemently tries to be protective about Rahmat at the work site, trying to save her from Faraj and the inspectors. Memar is forced to lay off all his Afghan workers after an unfortunate incident and Lateef takes a leave to find out where Rahmat stays. There are many beautiful shots during his relentless attempts to find his love. He learns to be tolerant about doves and starts feeding the doves. He tries to give money to Rahamat's family to save them from their difficult times but it leads to Najaf's friend Sulton going back to Afghanistan. Lateef then sells his only possession, the authorization card to give Rahamat's family enough money to go back to Afghanistan (meanwhile he learns that Rahmat's real name is Baran). In the last scene, we see Lateef helping Najaf and Baran with the loading of their rented truck to Afghanistan. We can see the couple almost acknowledging their love through the rigid social structure in Iran. Baran, which literally translates to rain, falls while Baran leaves to Afghanistan.
Awards won:
'Grand Prix des Amériques' and 'Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention' at 2001 Montréal World Film Festival.
'Crystal Simorgh' for the 'Best Film' and 'Best Director' at 2001 Fajr Film Festival.
'Best Director' and 'Best Screenplay' at 2001 Gijón International Film Festival.
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