THE 34th PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, DAY 3

"the white meadows," iran, dir. mohammad rasoulof

there was a man tabling for a petition to iran's united nations ambassador outside the theater. rasoulof is in prison in iran. it's not surprising. the festival program bills "the white meadows" as "an allegory for government persecution of artistic expression," but i'd say it takes things so far as to be a complete repudiation of the thought and behavior policing of contemporary iranian society by its power holders. i wanted to cast the functionary who collects the tears of the aggrieved as a stifled hero, but his definitive act of heroism never came. in fact, his routine of collections was as resigned to futility as those of the grief stricken people who put their faith in him to help alleviate their sorrows. what's more, the dead flats where his collections take place are separated by a wide salty sea, and the quiet message of that metaphor may be subtle but it isn't lost. "the white meadows" isn't, however, just commentary on current events. the sequence of the collector's very episodic trips from island to island share more with classical epic poetry than contemporary cinematic storytelling, which helps "the white meadows" succeed as a general statement on a human condition outside the picture of its director's personal political-artistic situation. all that said, is there anything to say that might still convince you that the film isn't a complete soul sucker? perhaps not. maybe you'll just see it because it's beautiful.