Not to be confused with a 2002 South African novel of the same title, this is the first feature from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. His subsequent output—Fireworks Wednesday (2006), A Separation (2011), The Salesman (2016) and Everybody Knows (2018)—have placed him in the cinematic and artistic spotlight, so the fresh video re-release and remaster is welcome.
Nazar (Yousef Khodaparast) is an impulsive young man who, though frequently conversing with God (often angrily), is not particularly gifted with wisdom—though he strives to do the right thing. He is ardently in love with aspiring dressmaker Reyhaneh (Baran Kosari), and by Iranian custom the engaged pair are considered married, although the relationship remains non-consummated pending Nazar producing a considerable dowry.
Cultural nuances may escape many viewers, but Nazar's parents (he still lives at home) are enraged that the bride's mother has a reputation for being a prostitute. They demand a "divorce" at once. This social disapproval even spills over into Nazar's friends at the menial job he can barely keep.
Still professing his love for Reyhaneh no matter what, Nazar goes ahead with the official divorce, to keep the peace This leads to a mountain of debt for the hero - not only legal bills but a dowery refund. The bulk of Dancing in the Dust is the dire situation Nazar gets into via his poor planning and tendency to follow through with the most harebrained schemes.
He has glimpsed the strange world of freelance snake catchers—loners who journey into remote deserts to capture poisonous serpents alive, bringing the reptiles back to sell to a nightmarish-looking low-tech place where the venom is transformed into vaccine medicine. Nazar hides in the rusty old truck of one grizzled, grim snake catcher, Haydar (Faramar Gharibian).
The glowering, unspeaking Haydar is not happy to find an unwelcome, motormouthed, half-starved kid among his specimen jars. Night is falling and Nazar manipulates, cajoles, and pleads for Haydar's favor. One is reminiscent of many a manic Jerry Lewis character who brings disaster on himself and those around him the same way. And, like many a Jerry Lewis character, you wind up rooting for Nazar all the same; he's doing it all for love, of course.
As is typical with Iranian cinema, the filmmaker expertly utilizes the tools at hand, such as a parched desert region, a minimal but expressive cast, and several snakes. Viewers with fears of the reptiles and their bites—or, for that matter, animal-rights sensitives not wishing to see dramatizations of snake mistreatment—should be warned. Opium use is also a minor plot point. For all others, there is little in the Hollywood sense that would ever give offense or pose a problem for buyers. Recommended, especially for upscale international-cinema collections.