Asghar Farhadi’s third film, Fireworks Wednesday, is finally getting an American release (it opens at the Film Forum in New York this week; I’m not sure about other locales but check your art-houses, if you’ve got them.) Farhadi’s 2011 film A Separation (it’s a masterpiece) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film (I reviewed it here), and the worldwide sensation that was A Separation created a lot of interest in what movies he had done before. About Elly, a film from 2009, was not even put out on DVD over here. It was basically un-see-able, and the Holy Grail to those of us in love with Farhadi’s work. It finally got a release last year. I wrote about it here. If anything, it’s even better than A Separation, although them’s fightin’ words, I realize. Let’s just say: You direct About Elly and A Separation back to back?? And you wrote both scripts? You’re one of the best film-makers on the planet right now.
I saw Fireworks Wednesday when it screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006. It was my favorite film in the festival, but it never got released. Unlike About Elly, Fireworks Wednesday is available to rent or buy. I have a DVD copy. (And I’m sure About Elly will be available to rent soon too.) Fireworks Wednesday stars a favorite of mine, Hedye Tehrani (I wish she worked more), as well as the wonderful Taraneh Alidoosti, who played the the title character in About Elly.
I reviewed it at the time for Slant, and it’s funny to read now since it is pre-A Separation, and I had no idea who Farhadi was, and hadn’t seen his two earlier films (which I don’t think got released here either.) He was a great unknown. But the film captivated me.
I Googled it to find images, and was happy to discover that my favorite image from the film was clearly many other peoples’ favorite image as well.
Farhadi’s familiar themes, explored in About Elly, A Separation, and The Past (the film following A Separation), are there in Fireworks Wednesday too. His themes are clear: clashes between the classes in Tehran, and how explosive those clashes can be (A Separation being the most searing example). Plus the position of women in Iran, and how their choices narrow as they reach a certain age, as marriage closes in like a prison. Patriarchy isn’t good for anyone. The men are trapped too.
Check out my review of Fireworks Wednesday here.
And seek out this film!
