No One Knows About Persian Cats
Acclaimed Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi enthralls with Tehran's underground music scene, but only partly succeeds in story and fact-telling.
Acclaimed Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi has set out to reveal the struggles of young musicians in Iran, and whereas he enthralls with Tehran's underground music scene, he only partly succeeds in story and fact-telling.
Negar Shaghaghi and Ashkan Koshanejad are the fronting members of twee indie group Take It Easy Hospital, and star as themselves in this fictionalised account of musicians in Tehran, where westernised music is banned, and, naturally, forced underground. It's immediately obvious the pair are not actors, and it's hard to establish - without prior knowledge - whether you are watching a documentary or a movie. An uneven first half sees the pair stumble from one underground act to another to gain bandmates, while trying to procure hideously expensive visas and passports to play a pre-booked gig in the UK. The trouble is, we rarely experience the pressure these youngsters are under, with Negar revealing facts in awkwardly placed exposition.
Ghobadi makes up for the slow pace when the bands do their thing, hidden from prying eyes and ears. We see metal in a cow shed, indie on a rooftop, rap in an unfinished high-rise block, strikingly and energetically cut with images of the Iranian capital. Because Negar and Ashkan cannot carry the film, it is left to veteran Iranian actor Hamed Behdad to steal every scene he's in. Playing a dodgy bootleg DVD seller who offers his services as promoter to Negar and Ashkan, it's his fate you end up caring about the most. Ghobadi seems reluctant to reveal anything about our two leads and real-life heroes, bar hints at imprisonment, which makes for an uninvolving story - they appear to be merely links between the thrilling musical montages.
It's not until the second half of the film that Ghobadi settles into his narrative, making up for the messy beginning. Behdad is unforgettable as the hyperactive and loveable Nader, who hilariously wheedles his way out of a lashing to resume his services to the band. The moment he leads them to a field to show exactly how passionate he is about music is breathtakingly beautiful. As someone who is interested in Iranian culture, I wanted to feel the desperation of these passionate musicians, who are risking so much to express themselves. Unfortunately, Ghobadi seems to have struck the fear of God into them with his camera and forced storyline. There is a regretful feeling that he should've decided between fact and fiction, as, without the involvement of the tremendous Behdad, he would not have mastered either.
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