#nargess

An indistinguishable man and woman run frantically through a dimly lit street as they attempt to outrun a police car that is doggedly pursuing them. Separating near a dead-end alley, the unidentified woman – unable to keep pace – hides behind a mound of garbage while the man, Adel (Abolfazl Poorarab), heads for a busy emergency room as the police close in, resuming their chase on foot. While attempting to disguise his appearance in the restroom of the clinic, he spots an opportune cover when a young woman, Nargess (Atefeh Razavi) awkwardly struggles to escort her ailing father into the bathroom. Insinuating himself into their company by lending his assistance, he hands over his incriminating burglary satchel to the unwitting Nargess and subsequently escapes detection from the police dragnet by accompanying the two into a taxicab under the pretense of concern for the old man. Captivated by the demure and beautiful Nargess, Adel is determined to marry her despite his unemployment and disreputable lifestyle, believing that his desire alone to start anew and lead a respectable married life is sufficient to overcome the temptation to revert to his former life of crime. In preparation for the marriage proposal, Adel visits his estranged mother in the hopes of arranging a proper family introduction, only to be summarily rejected and driven away by her. With Adel disowned and unable to find a family advocate to broker the marriage, his accomplice and former lover, a strong-willed and pragmatic older lady thief named Afagh (Farimah Farjami), takes advantage of his desperation and proposes an insidious offer – she will present herself as Adel’s mother and corroborate his eligibility in exchange for the continuation of their affair and criminal partnership after the marriage – a dangerously short sighted solution that Adel capriciously, and tragically, accepts.

An indistinguishable man and woman run frantically through a dimly lit street as they attempt to outrun a police car that is doggedly pursuing them. Separating near a dead-end alley, the unidentified woman – unable to keep pace – hides behind a mound of garbage while the man, Adel (Abolfazl Poorarab), heads for a busy emergency room as the police close in, resuming their chase on foot. While attempting to disguise his appearance in the restroom of the clinic, he spots an opportune cover when a young woman, Nargess (Atefeh Razavi) awkwardly struggles to escort her ailing father into the bathroom. Insinuating himself into their company by lending his assistance, he hands over his incriminating burglary satchel to the unwitting Nargess and subsequently escapes detection from the police dragnet by accompanying the two into a taxicab under the pretense of concern for the old man. Captivated by the demure and beautiful Nargess, Adel is determined to marry her despite his unemployment and disreputable lifestyle, believing that his desire alone to start anew and lead a respectable married life is sufficient to overcome the temptation to revert to his former life of crime. In preparation for the marriage proposal, Adel visits his estranged mother in the hopes of arranging a proper family introduction, only to be summarily rejected and driven away by her. With Adel disowned and unable to find a family advocate to broker the marriage, his accomplice and former lover, a strong-willed and pragmatic older lady thief named Afagh (Farimah Farjami), takes advantage of his desperation and proposes an insidious offer – she will present herself as Adel’s mother and corroborate his eligibility in exchange for the continuation of their affair and criminal partnership after the marriage – a dangerously short sighted solution that Adel capriciously, and tragically, accepts.

Another scene that I found especially poignant is the one in which Nargess is visited by her abusive husband at the clinic. I’m from Turkey and can very much relate to her case, especially now that violence against women has become an ever more pressing issue in our country (see Ozgecan Aslan Murder). Can you talk a bit about Nargess and the other female characters in the film and how they reflect your ongoing interest in women’s place in Iranian society?

Sadly, though we are in the 21st century and we’ve reached the peaks of technological advancement, violence, especially against women, seems to still be acceptable in our society. There is violence against women all over the world. In some countries, in some societies, it is more than the others but it is still prevalent. And as it is one of my main concerns, I think that it’s something that I always try to show and it’s something that needs to be discussed. And there has to be more awareness of the subject all over the world.

Reading some of the American reviews for Tales, I often encountered the word “melodramatic” to describe the Nargess scene. Why do you think Western audiences tend to label such scenes as melodramatic, a term they might use to describe an“overdramatized” or sensationalized situation (though a scene like this is very common in our countries…). Is it because they have trouble relating?

Definitely, I agree. I think that the cultural and social conditions in their countries may make them think of these scenes as melodramatic—though I don’t see melodrama as a negative point in films. But because they cannot understand our culture and our social conditions, maybe they feel that there is too much emotion in these scenes and this is why they label them as melodramatic. At the same time, when we look at some of the films made by those societies, maybe we think that there is insufficient emotion and there is too much coldness between characters, and we expect them to show more emotion. So it works both ways.