Mohsen Makhmalbaf
In 1974, a protester against the rule of the then Shah of Iran stabbed a police officer, and was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The protester was Mohsen Makhmalbaf. And the police officer was Mir Hadi Tayabi.
After being released from prison due to the Iranian revolution, Makhmalbaf decided to revisit this memory. He staged the recreation with the original police officer and himself schooling younger versions of themselves on how best to communicate the incident on film.
By doing so, we see how their characters develop. While the young portray their feelings then, the way Makhmalbaf and Tayabi interact in the present shows change. This is a second chance for both. To confront an incident that changed their lives.
By filming this in a docufiction fashion, Makhmalbaf humanizes both protagonists. They’re no longer just protester and police officer. They are real humans who change everyday, through thoughts, views and characteristics. He doesn’t entirely stand by the actions of his seventeen year old self. And it proves that neither does the police officer.
Sometimes the current political landscape can change the way we think. The way we act with certain people. React to protesters. React to police officers. But one flip to the system can alter it all.
A Moment of Innocence
director MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF
year 1996
director of photography MAHMOUD KALARI
cast MIRHADI TAYEBI, MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF and ALI BAKHSI
words PRIYESH PATEL
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