40/30
A chance encounter becomes an unforgettable evening
Synopsis
Seventy-year-old Mahin, solitary until now, chooses to revive her love life. Mahin: Are you afraid of death?Faramarz: No, I’m afraid of dying lonely..
Shabe Golestan TanhaSinger: Dariush RafieeComposer: Majid VafadarLyrics: Mahmood Sanaee
"Mahin" (Lili Farhadpour) is a lonely, widowed, retired nurse who has lived by herself for many years, when she happens to overhear a conversation in the government run pensioner's cafe that points out that taxi driver "Faramarz" (Esmaeel Mehrabi) is also single. She quite quickly determines to track him down and next thing she is in his cab.
The largest bottle of wine you've ever seen is duly produced and, well you can guess what's on the cards
It's not like she's a cougar nor he a womaniser – they are just two older people who click at the idea of something a bit "extra" at the end of their rain soaked day. Except?
Indeed, what also helps this work is the gentle way in which it makes some pretty hefty points
Well you can also guess that things are not going to go to plan either – and we are given a few subtle clues along the way to manage our expectations as this really quite entertainingly mischievous story develops. Farhadpour is really engaging as she charms her new beau and there's a lovely, soft, chemistry between the two as most of the plot unfolds in her house as they take care not to involve the dreaded morality police who might arrive and punish them – even at their advanced age – for being alone in her home together!
I'm not quite sure she could have baked the cake in quite the timeline offered, but it did look tasty!
About age, assumptions about age – true, but it also takes a broader look at a society that still treats women as less free citizens thanks their testicled counterparts. Most of all thought it's really quite funny and delivers us a message of confidence, shyness, optimism and hope tempered with some dark humour – especially at the end.
