The film showcases the musical talent and variety of styles of the pop-rock scene in Iran, and their struggle to create, practice, and perform in a country that considers that sort of music an anti-Islamic anti-Iranian activity. The movie is fresh and shows how Music has no boundaries, has an international language, serves to free the spirit and mind, catalyses discontent and express individualism - Music as a subversive peaceful movement. The bands and performers featured in the film, beyond the leading couple, are: Take It Easy Hospital, Rana Farhan, Hichkas, The Yellow Dogs Band, Shervin Najafian, Ash Koosha, Mirza, The Free Keys, Mahdyar Aghajani, Darkoob, Hamed Seyed Javadi, and Nik Aein Band.
The performance of each song is accompanied by a selection of randomly filmed shots of the streets of Tehran, which provide the viewer with a real view of the country - one that is not complacent or hedonistic, but warm and hard at the same time. Four moments deserve a special mention. The first one is the performance of a heavy-metal band in a cow shed, with the cows attending the performance, which I found very funny. The second moment is truly special, and revolves about the lessons that a volunteer musician gives to a group of foreign immigrant children; thy seem enthralled and moved by what they are hearing and their faces show that. The most daring and authentically revolutionary performance comes from rapper Rap Khon, with offers a great performance with raw and heartfelt lyrics. Finally, the performance of jazz-blues soloist Rana Farhan, who has an exquisite voice and world-class talent.
Among the acting moments, I found Hamed's discussion with the police officer after his detention hilarious!
The main problem with the movie is the poor acting abilities of the musicians playing actors, which could have been excused if the script was less simplistic and the story had contextualised its characters. For example, we don't know if they are posh rich kids or middle class kids, we don't know if they are students, workers, live with their parents, are married or engaged, what are the feelings of their family and friends about their music. They are left to scattered comments that, nevertheless, don't show the reality of the musicians in Iran when they are not composing of playing. In fact, the relationship between the leading couple is not even clearly established; they seem to be engaged, but we are not told. The musicians in the movie seem to live in a world where nothing but music matters, which can be true for musicians, but this type of music is forbidden in Iran,and society is very oppressive, so we just want to know more about their situation and real lives so we can understand the musicians better. Moreover, the girls wear a head scarf all the time, even in secret alternative concerts and parties where they drink and smoke. How does a woman fit in the underground musical scene in Iran is never explained. Nagar seems to be accessory to Ashkan and her relations with the other musicians are always through Ashkan, never direct or even warm.
The second problem, to me, is that the movie, despite its freshness and charm, feels more like a documentary, but it is not. I would have preferred the latter, as we would have seem mostly the same people and the same performances and avoid the weaknesses of the script. We love the characters since we meet them for what they are, so why force them to act when they can't?
By the way, I couldn't see this movie without remembering the music-black market in the animation movie Persepolis, which puts into a context how things got so far in Iran regarding music. The context that was missing from this movie.
A charming fresh and interesting film with great musical performances but with a poor script.
