A Hero (2021)

A Hero (2021)

Written and Directed by: Asghar Farhadi
Won the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival 2021. 

A Hero is a classic Asghar Farhadi film. It starts off with a simple conflict, and the way it builds, the layers that are added in the story, the way it gets so complex, it's so bloody interesting. I like how Asghar Farhadi always plays the god. He presents us with a few situations, a few characters and they keep fighting amongst themselves, coming up with tons of possibilities. The film doesn't even answer half of them. They are just let open. But he tickles us with all these possibilities for sure. From these few possibilities, he then probes. He probes by creating situations which make it tougher for the protagonist. It becomes as riveting as if it's like a thriller film, but it's a simple drama without any violence or sex. His films are interesting because he never introduces the characters, they introduce themselves - so there's always a possibility that they could be lying. So there's that constant sense of mystery throughout. 

For the first time in an Asghar Farhadi film, I saw music being used. I remember it being used in 2-3 scenes and I was so surprised. I absolutely loved a few moments in this film - the fight between Rahim and the creditor - the way it was shot and executed - it felt so so real. It's filmmaking at its best. I also enjoyed the whole stretch when Rahim takes his girlfriend to pretend as the lady who lost her bag. And later when he's caught, the scene at the charity office was also thrilling. There was one cut which I enjoyed so much - after Rahim tells them that he got his girlfriend because they couldn't find the lady - they cut from a series of closes to a sudden wide shot where we see everyone. At that point, I felt how he'd have felt. The feeling of being caught in front of everyone. I enjoyed a lot of such moments in the film - and I loved how in the ending he takes a stand and asks him to delete the video. It's a nice arc.