Deux anges

In the countryside of Iran, the poor fifteen year-old boy Ali (Siavash Lashkari) has frictions with his violent and retrograde religious father Hussein (Mehran Rajabi). When Ali meets a shepherd playing Nay in the field, he falls in love for the music and steals the musical instrument from the man. He tells his mother that he is interested in leaning how to play Nay and his mother sends him to a music school in Tehran. The naive Ali befriends the wealthy student of Daf Azar (Golshifteh Farahani), who is also enthusiastic about music. When Hussein discovers that his son is playing Nay, his stupidity leads the family to a tragedy.

"Deux Fereshté" is an engaging but messy tale about music and angels. The story of a poor teenager that loves music against the will of his religious father probably makes sense to those more familiarized with the Iranian culture. I am not sure whether there is censorship or it is the style of the director and writer Mamad Haghighat, but there are many open and never clear situations along the story. Based on the reactions of Hussein and of some passengers in the bus, my understanding is that those that are backward and religiously fanatic do not accept music. Unfortunately the conclusion is senseless and never clear with excessive use of symbols, and the viewer never knows whether Ali has really died or not. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Dois Anjos" ("Two Angels")