A Hero

(France, Iran / 2021 / Directed by Asghar Farhadi)

SHOWTIMES JANUARY 14 - 20:

No good deed goes unpunished in the latest from Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman, Everybody Knows), the story of an ill-fated calligrapher who’s imprisoned for his mounting debt.

A master at weaving pristinely entangled webs that are strung with tragedy and that cling to slippery codes of morality, Asghar Farhadi took home one of the Grand Prix Prizes at Cannes this year for A Hero. The dilemma at the film’s core is deceptively simple. Rahim (Amir Jadidi) is imprisoned for his inability to repay a debt. On a two-day release from the penitentiary, his girlfriend (Sahar Goldoust) presents him with a golden opportunity that will secure his release. But it’s centered on a lie, and once he becomes a so-called free man, mounting expectations surrounding the lie begin to surround him like a pile of bricks. Through a series of impeccably developed plot twists, his days of freedom come to feel numbered. With its rich take on gossip, social media, and society’s collective downfall, A Hero turns an individual’s story into a powerful metaphor for an entire nation.

PG-13 / 2 hrs 7 mins.
In Persian with subtitles