TEHRAN – Iran has provided theaters with new films to enliven Id al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the month of Ramadan.

Starring Reza Attaran, Mehdi Hashemi and Ahmad Mehranfar, the comedy drama “Solitary” is one of the films hitting the Iranian silver screens late this week a few days before the Islamic celebration.

The dramas “Bone Marrow” directed by Hamidreza Qorbani and “La Minor” by Dariush Mehrjui are other films selected to be screened at Iranian theaters.

Directed by Masud Atyabi, “Solitary” tells the story of a man who is heavily indebted to some influential people. To clear his debts, he decides to resume his past profession, robbery. He meets two friends from his youth to help him. They begin their nefarious work of thievery, stealing items from cars to antiquities. However, the money raised by the robberies is nowhere nearly enough to pay the debts. Therefore, they plan a big robbery. 
  
In “Bone Marrow”, while doctors believe that her son’s leukemia is terminal, Bahar holds out hope for a rare procedure that would require a fresh umbilical cord from the child’s birth parents. A tense atmosphere descends upon Bahar and her husband Hossein as they wrestle with the unspoken truth: he is not the boy’s father. As she sets out to find her first husband, missing from the mental hospital she committed him to years ago, she unwittingly uncovers buried secrets that send both families into disarray.

Led by powerful, urgent performances, “Bone Marrow” is a captivating portrait of humanism and sacrifice for the sake of family.

“La Minor” is a drama about a young woman musician. Initially, plans were for the film to hit Iranian theaters during the Noruz holiday season in 2020, however, it was canceled due to the pandemic.

A plan to screen the film in the Noruz holiday season in 2022 was also canceled again as the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said that director Mehrjui had not renewed the film’s screening license.

The culture ministry retreated after Mehrjui flew into a rage, telling about his plan to go on strike in protest at the ministry’s decision. Consequently, the premiere of “La Minor” was arranged for the Id al-Fitr, which falls in Iran on May 2.   

Photo: Ahmad Mehrnfar, Reza Attaran and Mehdi Hashemi act in a scene from “Solitary” by Masud Atyabi.

MMS/YAW