Aliyar Rasti’s excellent Iranian feature debut, “The Great Yawn of History,” wrestles with faith and disillusionment during a woebegone treasure hunt. Pious, middle-aged Beitollah (Mohammad Aghebati) believes his recurring dreams of finding gold coins at the end of a dark cave. But since picking up lost money is haram — or religiously forbidden in Islam — he employs a world-weary young agnostic, Shoja (Amirhossein Hosseini), to accompany him on his journey, resulting in a tale that’s as mysterious and melancholy as it is wryly funny.
The film is sold first and foremost by its precise performances. Both leading men appear to conform to specific types, between the overbearing Aghebati’s sharp, to-the-point delivery and Hosseini’s worn-out demeanor, burdened posture and sunken eyes. The contrasting energies they bring to the screen imbue their trip from Tehran to the rural landscape with withheld, sardonic wit, but Rasti never loses sight of...
The film is sold first and foremost by its precise performances. Both leading men appear to conform to specific types, between the overbearing Aghebati’s sharp, to-the-point delivery and Hosseini’s worn-out demeanor, burdened posture and sunken eyes. The contrasting energies they bring to the screen imbue their trip from Tehran to the rural landscape with withheld, sardonic wit, but Rasti never loses sight of...
- 2/23/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
A cross-country journey in search of a mysterious treasure puts the nature of faith to the test in “The Great Yawn of History,” the feature debut of Iranian director Aliyar Rasti, which premieres Feb. 22 in the competitive Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.
The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the two men grapple with notions of faith in their pursuit of a miracle.
Written and directed by Rasti, “The Great Yawn of History” stars Mohammad Aghebati and Amirhossein Hosseini and is produced by Tehran-based Para-Doxa. Heretic is handling world sales.
A visual artist with no formal film schooling, Rasti...
The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the two men grapple with notions of faith in their pursuit of a miracle.
Written and directed by Rasti, “The Great Yawn of History” stars Mohammad Aghebati and Amirhossein Hosseini and is produced by Tehran-based Para-Doxa. Heretic is handling world sales.
A visual artist with no formal film schooling, Rasti...
- 2/19/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
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