Lantouri
Directed by Reza Dormishian
Iran | 2017 | Fiction | 115 min | Farsi w/English subtitles
Film Source: Iranian Independents
Reza Dormishian is one of the most prominent and controversial directors of the new, disenfranchised generation of Iranian filmmakers (his previous film, I’m Not Angry!, is banned in Iran). Lantouri is the name of a gang of extortionists, thieves and blackmailers in Tehran. Maryam, a social activist/journalist who started the campaign “No to Violence,” tries to convince the families of the crime victims to forgive the murderers. But all this changes when she herself becomes the victim of an acid attack. Will she ask for lex talionis — the law, applicable in Iran, of “an eye for an eye”? While this dilemma drives the suspenseful narrative, the film is as much about issues of corruption, human-rights violations and the struggle for women’s rights. Lantouri mixes fictional interviews and media reports to provide contradictory views of a single event. The style creates a rich tapestry of non-linear sequences, made all the more powerful by its superb sound design. ~OY
