Rainy Seasons

With between one third and half of all marriages in Western countries reportedly ending in divorce, it is far from surprising that the topic has prospered on film. From the legal wrangling of Kramer vs Kramer to the observational drama of The Squid and the Whale, and including the outrageous antics of The War of the Roses and clever comedy of Intolerable Cruelty, as well as the sappy sentiment of Stepmom and empowered amusement of The First Wives Club, marital breakdown has become a common concept in cinema.

Following in the footsteps of 1998 documentary Divorce Iranian Style and 2012 Academy Award nominee A Separation, Rainy Seasons (Fasle Baranhaye Mousemi) considers the impact of parental parting from a Middle Eastern perspective. Chronicling the efforts of 16-year-old Sina (debutant Navid Layeghi Moghadam) to overcome his caught-in-the-middle status, it dwells in the teenage landscape of peer problems and ill-thought-out acts, heightened by the absence of family guidance.

As his progenitors leave him to his own devices as their divorce date approaches, Sina wanders alone with his angst. Only the presence of friend-of-a-friend Nahid (Marzieh Khoshtarash, Somewhere Far Away) provides an outlet for his feelings, with the pair bonding over similarly downtrodden situations. Accordingly, the film seethes with adolescent angst as it explores Sina’s attempts to adapt to his altered situation. His is a universal tale of unexpected responsibility and the importance of acceptance.

Indeed, only obvious audio and visual signifiers of the Tehran setting – dialogue and headscarves among them – separate first-time director Majid Barzegar‘s film from comparable English-language stories. The challenges faced and choices made in his co-scripted screenplay (with fellow newcomer Hamed Rajabi) resemble recognisable teen narratives, complete with conflict and courage. Captured with fluid handheld camerawork by Amin Jaferi (Gonah-e Maryam), the feature provides a subjective glimpse of the changing world of the main character. That the psychological and emotional fallout is familiar underscores the effort’s underlying statement about the comparability of the scenario on a global scale.

Although populated by largely inexperienced players – including Tehroun’s Alireza Bagheri as the feature’s primary antagonist – the film is aided by potent, personable portrayals from all involved. A deserving winner of the best director award at the 2010 Dushanbe Film Festival, as well as a handsome and heartfelt instance of divorce-inspired drama, the well-handled and well-meaning Rainy Seasons avoids the melodrama of the genre through its measured, meaningful and moving content.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rainy Seasons
Director: Majid Barzegar
Iran, 2010, 86 min

Screening at the Persian Film Festival
Saturday 25 February 2012
Bookings: persianfilmfestival.com