Directed by Mahnaz Mohammadi, who’s now on her second feature film, Roya [+lire aussi :
interview : Mahnaz Mohammadi
fiche film] is taking part in the Panorama section in this year’s Berlinale. The film is a courageous tale of resistance centred on an Iranian woman called Roya (Melisa Sözen) who is imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin Prison for her political beliefs.

Confronted with the choice between a forced confession and remaining confined to her three-metre-square cell, Roya must also fight for her relationships with her family, facing traumas which extend beyond her political persecution. It’s possible the main character’s fate is inspired by Mohammadi’s own life, considering that she has spent years working as a filmmaker and women’s rights activist in Iran and has faced similar restrictions on her freedom of speech.

Apart from its important, powerful themes, Roya benefits from excellent cinematography and highly innovative camera work. The first twenty minutes of the film are astonishing: the first-person perspective of what’s happening to Roya recalls a distorted version of Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], but with denser and more human political resonance, drenched in the country’s history. The film’s lighting choices prove highly effective, despite their simplicity. In sharp contrast to the harsh, over-lit yellow tones surrounding her persecutors, the pure, direct light shone on Roya becomes a statement in itself.

Beyond production choices, certain scenes are crucial to a metaphorical reading of the story. In one scene, for example, in her alienated state, Roya is cutting onions, and she ends up slicing her fingers. In this simple yet powerful moment, Mohammadi conveys a layered meaning which enriches the non-linear narrative, moving between dreamlike sequences and harsh realities and drawing the audience deeper into the woman’s story.

The film is necessary but it’s not an easy watch. By this, we mean that the themes the film explores are intense, not that its craft is in any way audience-unfriendly. In fact, despite the difficulty of the film’s subject-matter, Roya is a pleasure to follow, easy to get lost in, and extremely well crafted and edited. Iranian filmmakers - in this case represented by Mohammadi - are proving themselves more than capable of producing work which scales psychological heights through the political implications of their plots, whilst also being noteworthy in their production.

Overall, Roya is a powerful story told in an original and effective way. It will work for mainstream audiences who are ready to tackle the film’s heavier elements, while Sözen’s portrayal of the protagonist lends further strength and credibility. Works like these are a reminder that political statements can go hand in hand with audiovisual quality and still result in a triumphant outcome.

Roya was produced by Germany’s PakFilm and the Czech Republic’s Media Nest, in co-production with Amour Fou Luxembourg and Filminiran. World sales are in the hands of France’s Totem Films.