Letters in the Wind (2002 film)

For other uses, see Letters in the Wind (disambiguation).

Letters in the Wind
Directed by	Ali-Reza Amini
Produced by	Habiballah Kasehsaz
Written by	Ali-Reza Amini Keivan Nakhaei
Starring	Mohammad Taghi Hashemi Faramarz Hashemzadeh
Cinematography	Bayram Fazli
Distributed by	Aftan Negaran Productions
Release date(s)	2002 (Iran)
Running time	76 min
Language	Persian

Letters in the Wind (Persian: Namehay Bad) is a critically acclaimed Iranian film of 2002. It was the directorial debut of Ali Reza-Amini.

Storyline

The story of the movie follows a group of newbie recruits to the Iranian Army, and their life in boot camp. It follows the lives of two of the soldiers, Taghi and Faramarz (eponymous actors), while the rest of the cast are deliberately left anonymous. It follows one of the soldiers (Taghi) on a day's leave to Tehran after he wins a bayonet-hoisting competition. The boot camp incidents center on a cassette recording of an unknown female voice, which everyone in camp takes turns to listen to. The Tehran furlough incidents center on the soldier Taghi playing back recorded messages on the phone to the family of each of the recruits at boot camp, recording the sounds of the city on cassette, and missing connections and getting into trouble due to his social ineptness. The movie ends after showing the discovery of the tapes recorded in Tehran by camp officials, and the news of the breakup of Faramarz and his girlfriend.

Direction

The movie is directed in a crisp, unemotional, documentary style of narration, with little music, with the exception of street music in Tehran, and marching music at the training camp (notably the Colonel Bogey March). Tersely made, the film is however full of candid humor.

Controversy

The original 35 mm color version of the film was banned by the Government of Iran when the movie released in 2002. The movie was released in a gray tone digital version in the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. The director based some parts of the movie on his own experiences in the Iran-Iraq war, referring to the movie as being made in the "belly of the army".

Reviews

Neil Young's Film Lounge

External links

• Letters in the Wind at the Internet Movie Database