A Hero

Directed by : Asghar Farhadi 

We are not saying he lied. The problem is we don't understand what he says.


Spoilers ahead... 


Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi) who is on a two day leave from prison is very desperate to get his debt sorted for which he was doing the jail time. His girlfriend a week earlier found a bag full of gold coins laying at a bus-stop and thinks selling them would help Rahim get all the money he needs to pay to his brother-in-law, Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh). But when they find the value of gold dropped and they won't get the whole debt covered with these coins, Rahim is disappointed and decides to rather give the gold coins back to whoever the person it belonged reporting to the bank nearby about it. This is a very complex film in terms of morality it talks about, almost every person is grey here, no one can be termed good or bad. 

I personally felt if they had showed Rahim not take the gold coins to sell and directly opt to give it back then it would had been easier to have sympathy or be on Rahim's side fully, and also all the media angle that plays later on would had worked very much on the lines of 'Richard Jewell' movie. Instead here I felt diverting from wanting Rahim to get a proper life back to maybe he should be in jail specially when he does those 2 desperate moves, one where he fights with the brother in law, and other where he takes his girlfriend disguised as the woman whom the bag belonged to so he can get a job as new employer. Amir Jadidi no doubt is excellent and Asghar keeps you involved in this social drama that gets messier as it goes in all directions. In a way the 1st long scene of movie showing Rahim climbing up and up to meet his brother in law, Hossein (Alireza Jahandideh) only to be told by him to go down for a cup of tea describes the journey of Rahim, whose hero like gesture of returning gold coins gets questioned and it only goes downhill for him until the final scene of a return back to jail with a new hairstyle that maybe was a ode to 'Taxi Driver' with a driver playing important role too, or maybe I am trying to read too much in here. I am glad, Rahim doesn't take up the chance to be 'A Hero' again at the cost of his son in the final act or he would had been a lot more dislikeable for me. Its a good film, not the one though I would want to see again. 

My Rating : 6/10



Last Night in Soho 

Directed by : Edgar Wright

I am not going to prison. I have been in a prison all my life. 


Spoilers ahead.. 


Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) aspires to be fashion designer joining a school in London. When she shifts to a rented house after not enjoying the room-mate she got at the school, there's a mysterious change in setting as she starts entering the 1960s into the life of a wannabe singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). Being a total admirer of 1960s, Eloise couldn't really have asked for more as she develops slow obsession wanting to be like Sandie, even doing designs at classes that resembled her or having her hairstyle changed.. but she slowly learns the dark side of Sandie's life that eventually lead to her death. Was Eloise hallucinating all the time since she belongs to a past history of mental health issues associated with her mom or did Sandie actually die in 1960s and Eloise after 60 years is going to get the murderer caught ? 

One of the psychological thriller that works pretty well for both the 1st and 2nd act, but whether you just like the film or go on to love the film depends on your opinion over the 3rd act with that main twist. I couldn't enjoy it because it felt more like what will the audience be thinking, either its just in her head or the murderer is loose, no one will think Eloise actually was staying with Sandie all the time. Not saying felt cheated, but it was tough for me to see the point of view of Edgar here after having invested in Sandie been hard done all the while, and that whole ghost angle of the men she killed haunting Eloise also felt very odd. I however did enjoy the setting, the costumes, and the fantastic 1960s playlist with some super tracks used throughout, 'A World without Love', 'Don't throw your love away', 'Downtown', 'Land of 1000 dances' to name a few of them. Both Thomasin and Anya Taylor deliver enjoyable performances keeping you hooked all the while, but in the end Last Night in the Soho couldn't deliver like I had hoped. 

My Rating : 6/10