Image: supplied
For a film set almost entirely within the confines of a Tehran apartment, Melbourne can’t escape its Australian fixation. The titular city looms large in a feature that slowly endows the locale with mythic status; it starts as a simple destination for a departing couple, but morphs into a symbol of all that could be lost, and all that could be gained. Indeed, that’s writer/director Nima Javidi’s strategy throughout the entire movie, transforming the ordinary into anything but. An average day spent packing for a trip, a simple favour done for a neighbour: neither turn out as planned, and both cause a web of complexities.
Amir (Peyman Moaadi, Camp X-Ray) and Sara (Negar Javaherian, The Painting Pool) are just hours away from flying around the world to study and stay for three years, their home a hive of activity. A census worker pries data out of them, a baby sleeps in the bedroom, and friends come in and out – both physically, and via phone and skype calls. Amidst the chaos, an unexpected and unintentional tragedy sends the pair into a spiral of panic and confusion. How they handle the situation will have repercussions, stretching their bond, testing their ethics, and threatening their impending trip
To say that Javidi’s astute debut recalls the work of his famous countryman, Asghar Farhadi, is to pay the filmmaker and the film a clear and certain compliment; however the comparison rings true. The presence of Moaadi, perhaps best known for Farhadi’s About Elly and A Separation, makes the connection plain, but the scenario – people confronted by a dire problem, choosing to conceal the truth through well-meaning lies, and forced to cope with the consequences – is drawn straight from his playbook in its own right. “What would you do?” is the obvious question raised, with the in-narrative answer always tensely but thoughtfully explored.
As is always the case in films primarily predicated upon probing the reactions of their protagonists, based on simple premises but strong screenplays as they are, the dialogue and the delivery hold the key to Javidi’s success in emulating the Farhadi formula. In a virtual two-hander, the words uttered from the mouths of Moaadi and Javaherian ring with realism as blame shifts back and forth, just as the faces they belong to do as well. Making the circumstances of the script universally relatable and understandable, as unlikely as it is that the watching audience has shared the same experience, is seemingly effortlessly achieved through exposing the psychological minutiae through naturalistic performances. Moaadi may go into the film as the biggest star out of the actor-actress-filmmaker trio; however in comparably conveying the emotional intricacies inherent to the situation, his on- and off-screen counterparts more than hold their own.
For the latter, Javidi stays close to everything – the conversation-driven action, the actual timeframe events take to unfold, his nuanced yet expressive actors, and the increasingly confining setting – to evoke the air of claustrophobia that blisters through the entire film. As the same sights are seen within the emptying apartment, and the same sounds of anxious, arguing voices are heard, the world outside – and the destination that gives the film its name – appear both idealised and unattainable. His frames, favouring tight shots, are as precise and pointed as his editing, which values repetition in exposing different perceptions, both reinforcing the same insular aim. Like the symbolism of its moniker, the familiar in form but effective in impact Melbourne dreams big but stays small in its domestic drama, and is all the more insightful and affecting for it.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Melbourne
Director: Nima Javidi
Iran, 2014, 91 mins
Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival
http://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/
29 November – 14 December
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