Cannes

Lonely Tunes of Tehran

Taraneh Tanhaiye Tehran (Iran - France)

By ALISSA SIMON

Lonely Tunes of Tehran

A Saman Salour (Iran)/DreamLab Films (France) production. (International sales: DreamLab Films, Le Cannet, France.) Produced by Saman Salour. Executive producer, Sassan Salour. Co-producer, Nasrine Medard de Chardon.
Directed, written by Saman Salour.
 
With: Behrouz Jalili, Hamid Habibifar, Mojtaba Bitarafan, Mohammad Fassihi, Maryam Sabaghian, Mohammad-Reza Salour.
(Farsi dialogue)

 

Two damaged dreamers seek their place in Iran's capital in "Lonely Tunes of Tehran," a lyrical but monologue-heavy depiction of life on the margins. Full of Samuel Beckett-like absurdities, third feature from Saman Salour ("From Land of Silence," "A Few Kilos of Dates for a Funeral") is a low-budgeter, shot without a production permit, using non-pros. Featuring some striking images --particularly in opening tableaux -- and fresh sociological perspectives, it confirms helmer as an idiosyncratic auteur with a strong visual sense. Fests and adventurous webs might sway to pic's plaintive melody.

Motor-mouth Hamid (Hamid Habibifar), a wizened telecom engineer from the provinces and his seemingly shell-shocked cousin Behrooz (Behrooz Jalili), try to make a living installing illegal satellite dishes, but lack the financial, social and emotional resources to succeed. Aptly stylized HD lensing by Touraj Aslani creates both poignancy and a teleplay look. Framed together, tiny but tenacious Habibifar (who resembles a progeria-sufferer) and gentle giant Jalili (recently killed in a car accident) recall iconic underdogs from Mutt and Jeff to Vladimir and Estragon. Lyrics of sparingly-used music underscore themes of loneliness and yearning for love. English subtitles are sub-par.

Camera (color, HD), Touraj Aslani; editors, Salour, Arezou Arzanesh; music, Mohammad Salarvand; production designers, Salour, Mahssa Hosseini; sound recorder, Mohammad Shahverdi; sound mixer, Mohammad-Reza Youssefi. Reviewed on DVD, Chicago, May 3, 2008. (In Cannes Film Festival -- Directors' Fortnight.) Running time: 75 MIN.