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Ghobadi's "Half Moon" movie opens in Manhattan |
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Ghobadi's "Half Moon" movie opens in
Manhattan
14.12.2007
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December
14, 2007
Harsh Realities and Mystical Power
For his poetic fourth feature, “Half Moon,” the
Kurdish-Iranian writer and director Bahman Ghobadi
returns to the breathtaking desolation of the
Kurdish borderlands and the enduring optimism of his
people.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Mamo (Ismail
Ghaffari), a famed Kurdish musician living in Iran,
gathers his many sons for a trip across the border
to Iraqi Kurdistan and a long-planned celebratory
concert. Despite failing health and his offspring’s
fluctuating commitment to the dangerous enterprise,www.ekurd.net
Mamo is resolute;
neither callous border guards nor his own recurring
premonitions of disaster will derail the
performance.
Fateful and funny, haunting and magical, “Half Moon”
balances delicately between the harsh realities of
its location and the mystical power of Mamo’s
visions. Shooting mainly in Iranian Kurdistan, the
cinematographers Nigel Bluck and Crighton Bone find
an unearthly beauty amid the gambling frenzy of a
cockfight and the silent ranks of exiled female
singers lining the rooftops of a mountain village.www.ekurd.net
As the end of the
journey draws near, the line between the natural and
the supernatural becomes increasingly difficult to
discern. |
The famous Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi.
Half Moon, Winner of the 2006 Inspiration Award at
Mountain film in Telluride, and the Award at the
2004 Maui Film Festival. |
Inspired by Mozart’s “Requiem” and commissioned by
the New Crowned Hope festival in Vienna, “Half Moon”
is an affecting contemplation of resilience in the
face of tragedy. When a higher purpose beckons,
death itself must take a back seat.
HALF MOON
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Written (in Kurdish and Persian, with English
subtitles), produced and directed by Bahman Ghobadi;
director of photography, Nigel Bluck and Crighton
Bone; edited by Hayedeh Safiyari; music by Hossein
Alizadeh; production designers, Mansooreh Yazdanjoo
and Mr. Ghobadi; released by Strand Releasing. At
the Imaginasian Theater, 239 East 59th Street,
Manhattan. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes. This
film is not rated.
WITH: Ismail Ghaffari (Mamo), Allah Morad Rashtiani
(Kako/Bus Driver), Hedye Tehrani (Hesho/Singer),
Hassan Poorshirazi (Border Policeman), Golshifteh
Farahani (Niwemang) and Sadiq Behzadpoor (Shouan).
nytimes com
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