“Baran” is a story of Afghan refugees told through the eyes of Lateef (Hossein Abedini), an Iranian teenager.  While he and other native Iranians struggle to make ends meet, Afghan refugees can barely survive, as they cannot work legally.

Lateef, a good-hearted yet mischievous boy, works as a caretaker on a construction site, providing tea and food to the Afghan workers who work illegally for scant wages.  The site boss, a kind but frugal man named Memar (Mohammad Amir Naji), provides Lateef with only a small weekly allowance and holds onto the remainder of his wages claiming it is for his own good.

When an Afghan worker, Najaf, suffers a fall on the construction site, he cannot tell the authorities where or how he got injured due to his illegal working status.  This incident threatens everyone’s jobs.  The following day, an Afghan worker and a family friend of Najaf’s, Soltan (Abbas Rahimi) arrives to work with the injured man’s son, Rahmat (Zahra Bahrami).  Soltan convinces Memar that Rahmat can fill in for his father.  Memar reluctly agrees.

Initially Lateef tries to help the newcomer but Rahmat is not meant for such physical labor.  After Rahmat drops a heavy load, Memar reassigns Lateef to the hard construction work and Rahmat to the less taxing caretaking duties.  Resentful over his new assignment, Lateef sabotages Rahmat—smashing up the caretaker’s room and even throwing water at him.  But in one moment, Lateef’s attitude suddenly changes.

Lateef hears singing and turns his attention to the caretaker’s room.  Behind the curtain, Lateef sees a beautiful girl, and watches as she brushes her long hair.  Lateef is instantly taken with her.  He sets out to impress her and his affections are returned when she silently leaves tea for him on a makeshift table.

Government inspectors visit the site, which comes at a high price—all the Afghan workers are let go, including the Afghani girl.  Feeling lonely, Lateef finds a black hair barrette that he keeps as a reminder of her.

Lateef tracks down Soltan, who tells him where his beloved now works.  He watches her dangerously haul heavy rocks and is moved to help her.  Lateef begs the site-boss, Memar for his uncollected wages.  Lateef then gives all his money to Soltan so he can pass it onto the girl’s father.  But Soltan, also under desperate times, keeps the money for himself—leaving a devastated Lateef a note, promising the return of the money soon.

Distraught, Lateef goes to Najaf’s house and learns of Rahmat’s true identity.  Lateef’s devotion to his love, leads him to a choice that will change his life forever.

Awards:

MONTREAL FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER

BEST FILM 2001

FAJR FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER

BEST FILM, BEST ACTOR, BEST DIRECTOR

4 OTHER WINS

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS

NOMINEE

BEST FILM 2001

Majid Majidi (director)

Majid Majidi developed an interest in acting at an early age and performed in several stage plays during his teenage years.  He began his film career as an actor after a brief stint in television and appeared in nine films, including “Two Sightless Eyes” (1983), “Seeking Sanctuary” (1984) and “The Boycott” (1985)–three early films by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.  While acting for other directors, he started making his own films.

After directing four short films (“Explosion,” “Hudaj,” “Exam Day,” and “A Day with the Iraqi Prisoners”), he made his feature film debut “Baduk” in 1991.  Living in the border towns of the Baluchistan region in Iran, the Baduks are children who carry illegal merchandise across the Pakistan’s border.  Majidi’s daring film focused on the plight of a teenage brother and sister who are kidnapped and sold to slave traders.  The film’s uncompromising depiction of the mistreatment of children did not endear it to the censors and, consequently, it received only limited domestic and international exposure, which included an appearance in the 1992 Cannes’ Directors Fortnight.

It took Majidi four years to make his second feature, “The Father.”  In between, he made “The Last Village,” about the adventures of a government worker whose job is to carry children’s books to remote villages.  The central character in “The Father” (1995) is another stubborn and iron-willed 14-year-old boy who, unhappy about his mother’s remarrying, wages an all-out war against his equally tough army-sergeant stepfather.  The film won the top award at the 14th Fajr Film Festival, an annual showcase for Iranian films in Tehran, and went on to win additional awards in San Sebastian, Sao Paulo, and Turin.

Majidi followed “The Father” with “God Is Coming” (1995), a film about a sick woman who writes a letter to God seeking help.

“Children of Heaven” featured yet another strong boy in a heart-felt tale of triumph of the will in the face of extreme poverty. After capturing the top award of the Fajr Film Festival again, the film won the Grand Prize of the Americas at the Montreal Film Festival in 1997.  In 1999, “Children of Heaven” became the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award in the best foreign-language category.

“The Color of Paradise,” Majidi’s fourth feature managed to repeat the success of Majidi’s previous film in winning the top awards of both Fajr and Montreal Film Festival in 1999.  The film also triumphed at the box office internationally and it became the highest-grossing Iranian film in the United States.  The young protagonist in the center of this film was a blind boy, increasingly heartbroken by the lack of attention from his unfeeling father.

In February 2000, “Baran,” the inspirational story of a young Iranian Turk and his Afghani refugee co-worker, became the fourth consecutive Majidi film to win the best film award at the Fajr Film Festival and once again took the Grand Prize of the Americas  (with Torzok) at the recent 2001 Montreal Film Festival.  “Baran” also recently screened at the 2001 New York Film festival where it was acclaimed by U.S. film critics. Miramax will release the film in the U.S.  Considering the high volume of film production in Iran, Majidi’s continuous domestic success has set a rare record almost impossible to touch by any other filmmaker.

Director: MAJID MAJIDI

Country: IRAN

Language: FARSI

Subtitles: English

DVD MRP: Rs.349/-

Genre: DRAMA