A story set in one of Tehran's poorest neighbourhoods, where cobblers, construction workers and maids live around communal courtyards. Ali, the protagonist, struggles to study and help his mother by getting any job he can find. He ends up in a printer's shop, and the film tells the story of his rivalry with another boy in a cut-throat world. When faced with difficult choices (to tell on a co-worker for instance) he displays unwavering integrity, leading even his rival to commend him as a 'real man' at the end of the film.
Beautiful musical score featuring the Daf enlivens the film. There are memorable images, such as an aerial shot of a fruit seller pushing his way through a fight between two boys. A memorable dialogue: a typesetter, after detailing the hazards of the job, takes great pride in his work by saying that had there been no typesetters, there would be been no publications, no science, and no rockets!
Ali's mother, his father's old friend, and his colleagues at the printer's shop all perform their role with admirable natural-ness. Ali and Reza, the two teenage rivals, appear stilted at times.
A film portraying the 'average' lives of 'average' folks who nevertheless are capable of extraordinary acts of kindness.
This film is available on disk as part of a set of films released by the Khane Cinema (House of Cinema Association) in 2009.
