Abjad

Iran, France

2003

113 Min

Color

1.66:1

Persian

Currently 0.0/5 Stars.
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EXEC Emmanuel Benbihy, Mel Gee Henderson

CAST Mehdi Morady, Abdolreza Akbari, Gholamreza Tabatabai, Sharare Roohy, Fariba Khademy, Mina Molania

MUSIC Hossein Alizadeh, Mohammad Javod Sarafian, Homayoun Shajarian, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Hassan Youssef Zamani

SOUND Mazyar Sheikh Mahbooby, Geraldine Falieu

Toronto, London, Rotterdam

Synopsis

Directed by Abolfazl Jalili, Abjad (aka The First Letter) centers around Emkan (Mehdi Morady), a rebellious 16-year-old who is in frequent trouble with his professors. Though very bright, Emkan is constantly berated by his father (Abdolreza Akbari) for his interest in music, photography, calligraphy, and poetry. With a decidedly more liberal view of the Koran than the rest of his community, Emkan organizes a soup kitchen, paints signs for a movie theater, and falls in love with Maassoum (Mina Molania), the theater owner’s very Jewish daughter. Eventually, revolution comes and Emkan is forced to make some difficult choices in regards to his feelings, his future, and his ultimate survival. —allmovie guide

Director

Abolfazl Jalili

Abolfazl Jalili started making films while still a teenager. Born in 1957 in Saveh, he studied directing at the Iranian College of Dramatic Arts. After shooting his short film “The Sacrifice”, he directed his first full-length feature film “Milad” in 1983. His 1994 film “Det Means Girl” won prizes both in Venice and Nantes. His works mix a variety of elements – documentary and feature films, reality and fiction – into new, complex forms. His films are often labelled daring and provocative, not only because he deals with tabooed topics, for instance, drug addiction and war, but also for his avoidance of conventional endings. His prize-winning film “Don” (1998) confronts his audience with the issue of child labour, while “Delbaran” (2001) describes the fate of a young boy fleeing from Afghanistan into an Iranian border town. —culturebase.net