Life + 1 Day is the directorial debut for young screenwriter and director Saeed Roostaei, whose film is well-written and well-crafted with stellar performances from most of the cast. The plot (if you could call it that) is about the youngest girl in a poverty-stricken family in Tehran who's contemplating whether she should leave her family to marry a rich Afghan or to stay with them and continue her mostly-futile attempts to mend her broken family. Her older brother, Morteza, who's a recovering addict urges her to leave, while her younger brother, Mohsen, who's still a user, implores her to stay and not give up on her family.
In my opinion, the film certainly has its moments. In one scene, the two brothers argue over whether Morteza has received money from the Afghan suitor and is supporting the marriage for his own financial gain. The chemistry between Moaadi and Mohammadzadeh is unbelievable, and the dialog fuels the drama in a powerful way.
My problem with Life + 1 Day is two-fold: first, it's structure: the film has divided its attention among all characters, and in doing so, it has spread itself too thin. We see a family of 8 and we are given a glimpse into the life and problems of each and every one. At the end of the day, the film is about all of the characters. I think to do justice to all of them, the film would have needed much more runtime.
My second issue is with the rampant melodrama during the whole film. It's like listening to an opera with the soprano screaming her lungs out the entire piece. I'm not saying the scenarios are contrived or the sequences are not believable. My point is that for the drama to really kick in, you need to have the "downs" as well as the "ups". The characters of this story are constantly screaming, quibbling or shedding tears! There is a sequence, where the family celebrates their youngest brother's remarkable grades or a sequence where they take a family picture together. Sequences like these would've better established the "normal" pace of daily life and then, as a result, the more dramatic sequences would have hit the audiences (especially international ones who may be less familiar with the culture of Iranian families) even harder.
Overall, I'm personally happy with the direction Iran's school of Realism in cinema has taken in recent years and look forward to Roostaei's future films. Afterall, he's only 26. I can't imagine what movies he'll be making by the time he's 40!
In my opinion, the film certainly has its moments. In one scene, the two brothers argue over whether Morteza has received money from the Afghan suitor and is supporting the marriage for his own financial gain. The chemistry between Moaadi and Mohammadzadeh is unbelievable, and the dialog fuels the drama in a powerful way.
My problem with Life + 1 Day is two-fold: first, it's structure: the film has divided its attention among all characters, and in doing so, it has spread itself too thin. We see a family of 8 and we are given a glimpse into the life and problems of each and every one. At the end of the day, the film is about all of the characters. I think to do justice to all of them, the film would have needed much more runtime.
My second issue is with the rampant melodrama during the whole film. It's like listening to an opera with the soprano screaming her lungs out the entire piece. I'm not saying the scenarios are contrived or the sequences are not believable. My point is that for the drama to really kick in, you need to have the "downs" as well as the "ups". The characters of this story are constantly screaming, quibbling or shedding tears! There is a sequence, where the family celebrates their youngest brother's remarkable grades or a sequence where they take a family picture together. Sequences like these would've better established the "normal" pace of daily life and then, as a result, the more dramatic sequences would have hit the audiences (especially international ones who may be less familiar with the culture of Iranian families) even harder.
Overall, I'm personally happy with the direction Iran's school of Realism in cinema has taken in recent years and look forward to Roostaei's future films. Afterall, he's only 26. I can't imagine what movies he'll be making by the time he's 40!