By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Iranian filmmaker,
Asghar Farhadi whose work includes the Oscar winning movies, “A Separation” (2011) and "The Salesman" (2016) delivers another riveting drama with
"A Hero," a morality tale and character study about a family in Iran who are living on the edge.
"A Hero" is Iran’s official Oscar’s submission for the
94th Academy Awards (March 27, 2022). The movie has been a hit on the festival circuit and won the Grand Prix award at Cannes last year.
While “A Hero” could have stiff competition this Awards Season from foreign film entries such as Italy’s “The Hand of God” and Japan’s “Drive my Car,” “A Hero” is a worthy contender.
The movie centers around Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi, “Zero Day”) who has been in prison because he’s unable to pay a debt to a local print shop owner named Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh, “Killer Spider”).
Rahim gets out of prison on a two-day pass with hopes he can square things with Bahram who was the guy that had him behind bars. It wasn’t completely Rahim's fault for the terrible predicament he put Bahram in, but things happened that he couldn't control. Rahim ran a small business, but his right-hand guy stole all the money and Rahim couldn't make ends meet and was forced to shut down.
While out of jail, Rahim pays a visit to his brother-in-law Hossein (Ali Reza Jahandideh) who works at an archaeological site. Hossein is happy to see Rahim but is reluctant to facilitate a meeting with Bahram who refuses to return Rahim's calls.
Meanwhile, Rahim's girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust) can’t wait to see him and share her good news. Farkhondeh found a purse filled with several gold coins. Real gold coins. It should be more than enough to pay off the debt that Rahim owes and even have enough to get married and live happily ever after.
When they arrive at a pawn shop, they are told the coins aren't as valuable as they thought. Since Rahim can’t seem to catch a break, he decides to find the rightful owner of the purse and give everything back. Although Farkhondeh found it, he doesn’t want to get her involved for a number of reasons. It’s complicated.
Well, the media gets wind of this "do the right thing" story and dubs him a hero. Rahim loves the spotlight and sees it as an opportunity to have everyone perceive him differently including Bahram. That’s not happening though. In fact, Bahram is even more angry with the attention that Rahim is getting.
However, when some major revelations unfold surrounding the entire incident, Rahim's 15 minutes of fame and that new lease on life he was looking forward to is gone in a flash.
"A Hero" is an emotional packed movie filled with good acting all around, but it's Amir Jadidi's commanding performance that truly resonates and drives this drama.
"A Hero" is in select theaters and also available to stream on
Amazon Jan. 21.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"A HERO"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
