Synopsis
The White Balloon takes place in downtown Tehran, on March 21st, New Year's Day, just hours before the city shuts down for a long holiday. The story follows the adventures of Razieh (AIDA MOHAMMADKHANI), an adorable, self-reliant seven-year-old whose heart is set on buying a particular plump, multi-finned goldfish for her family's New Year's ceremony. With her brother's help, she convinces her reluctant mother to relinquish he last bank note for the extravagant purchase. Instructed to return with plenty of change for their household necessities, Razieh returns to the hectic marketplace to buy her special goldfish. But before she reaches the pet shop, a pair of crafty snake charmers promptly swindle her out of her bank note. She recovers her cash only to lose it again before reaching the pet shop. At the shop, a kind elderly woman helps the desperate child retrace her steps until she locates her money in an unreachable spot beneath a curbside cellar grate. As the surrounding vendors and merchants close shop for the holiday weekend, Razieh encounters and tries to enlist the assistance of a friendly soldier, an argumentative tailor, an Afghan balloon seller, and other grown-ups, none of whom seem to take seriously the magnitude of her predicament.
Filmed in real-time from the girl's perspective, this beautifully spare and emotional film is the promising directorial debut of Jafar Panahi. Winne of the Camera d'Or and co-winner of the International Critic's Prize at Cannes Film Festival, The White Balloon was acclaimed by audiences and critics at the Montreal, Tokyo, Toronto, Telluride and New York Film Festivals.
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Credits
DirectorJafar Panahi
Screenplay
Abbas Kiarostami
Camera, Film & Tape
Mahmoud Heydari, Fatemeh Tmidi, Farzad Judat
Editor
Jafar Panahi
Assistant Directors
Parviz Shahbazi, Behrouz Hamed Saberi
Production Manager
Kurosh Mazkouri
Sound
Mojtaba Mortazavi, Sa'ied Ahmadi
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