nov 10-14 2010 - Rehoboth Beach Film Society

feaTuRe fIlms
54
Tehroun, a title taken from the slang word ascribed
to Tehran’s slums, aggressively captures within the
framework of a breathless crime thriller the underbelly
of a society twisting in ruin. Hard-working Ibrahim, a
professional beggar, struggles to keep his trade afloat
with the added accessories of a helpless infant he carries
all day in the hot sun and a concocted tragic story of a
fictitious dead mother. The truth of the matter is that the
baby is not even his, but rather a stolen child he rents in
installments from the local gang lord in order to bump
up his daily earnings. They live in squalor with his two
longtime friends, both of them equally ill-equipped to
care for a newborn. When his pregnant wife makes an
unexpected excursion to Tehran, Ibrahim entrusts the
Rohan is a special 17-year old. Though kicked out of a
prestigious boarding school in Shimla, there’s something
instantly arresting about his serene disposition and
soulful, searching eyes. He’s not a man yet but his
poems are observant, mature and laced with enticing
simplicity. There’s enough subtext to figure out that this
wisdom stems from the fact that he lost his mother at a
young age and his hardboiled father is too aloof to take
notice. Whether it’s his escape or his identity, writing
brings out the best in Rohan’s otherwise clammed-up
world. A detail often elucidated through fascinating,
freewheeling verse. And so that’s precisely what he
wants to pursue: a career in writing. This does not go
tehroun
Audience prize Best Film Venice Film Festival
Thurs Nov 11 12:20 PM-2:00 PM
FrI Nov 12 2:30 PM-4:10 PM
sAT Nov 13 2:50 PM-4:30 PM
baby to a bumbling youngster, who promptly loses it to a conniving
prostitute. Their meager lives now unraveling, Ibraham must either
find the baby or a way to pay the difference, a journey that only leads
him further into the self-destructive depravity of Tehroun, First-time
feature director Nader Takmil Homayoun’s controversial exposé is a
bracingly frank portrayal of poverty that revels in what’s left unsaid.
Tehroun’s humanist core offers up characters who remain nuanced
despite being already long dehumanized by their surroundings, even
as they try ruthlessly to claw their way out at any cost.
[dir. nadir takmil Homayoun, 2009, iran, 35mm, 95 mins. in persian with
English subtitles]
Website: www.memento-films.com/www/films/mfi_tehroun.html
udaan
Thurs Nov 11 4:30 PM-6:50 PM
FrI Nov 12 12:20 PM-2:40 PM
down well with his stern, old-school father (played to perfection by
Ronit Roy) who wants him to do what 63 percent of Indian parents
aspire -- join an engineering college. Udaan is the first Indian film to
screen in Cannes in over a decade and after viewing you will see why
many more are sure to follow.
[dir. Vikramaditya motwane, 2010, india, dVd, 137 mins. in Hindi with
English subtitles]
Website: www.udaanthefilm.net
[this film is part of country Spotlight: india]