Although provocative by Iranian standards, Dariush Mehrjui's 1990 Hamoun will seem fairly tame (and perhaps a bit dull) to American sensibilities today. The fraying marriage of the none-too-successful writer Hamoun (Khosro Shakibai) and his very successful artist wife (Bita Farrahi) comes to a breaking point when the latter demands a divorce. Under Iran's severe Islamic law, women cannot initiate divorce proceedings, and Hamoun is not pleased with the request (and, not surprisingly, his wife is unhappy with his dithering response). Unable to find solace in their respective work and increasingly isolated by the urban unpleasantness that surrounds them, the couple's situation places great strain on both their individual frames of mind and their union. As a psychological comedy-drama, Hamoun generates very few laughs (the characters are never sympathetic or intriguing enough to maintain our attention), and as a dramatic indictment of the second class status of women in today's Iran, the film is hardly a scream-your-lungs-out attack against the blatant misogyny of that nation's legal and social system. While the wife eventually asks, “Why don't women have rights in this country?”, the film never really challenges the Iranian censors or status quo with a forceful and meaningful dissection of Iranian culture. Rabid fans of Iranian cinema may wish to seek this out--along with Mehrjui's The Cow (1969), also newly available from First Run--but for most others, this is an optional purchase at best. (P. Hall)
Hamoun
First Run, 117 min., in Farsi w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 December 27, 2004
Hamoun
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