The Song of Sparrows. And Ostriches.
A gentle, picaresque film from Iran, from director Majid Majidi. (Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of him either, or the film, although the film’s lead won the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.)
The Song of Sparrows is engaging, but ultimately a little underwhelming. It’s essentially a fable, following the travails of a ostrich farm worker who loses his job, struggles to raise money to replace his daughter’s hearing aid, loses touch with the important things in his life, before an accident forces him to reassess his priorities. The film has a light comic touch that stops the lessons being too blatant, but they’re there nonetheless, and the film’s steady pace makes it slightly inescapable.
It’s lifted by the sympathetic, if slightly passive, lead, and some striking visuals that highlight the bleak beauty of rural Iran. And it makes good use of the comic potential of ostriches.
I saw:
- 19/06/08, 8:15pm: The Song of Sparrows (Filmhouse 1 EIFF)
Sounds like my kind of film… what happens with the ostriches?