Baran (2001)

Waste of time

Very Cool!!!

Load of rubbish!!

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Baran is a dramatic love story written, directed, and produced by "Majid Majidi" in 2001. Like his previous smashing hit works at that time, like "Children of Heaven", "The Colour of Paradise", and "The Father", Baran keeps on moving the audience emotionally in a slow pace, covering the story in a very cultural dramatic manner. Baran's story is very close to human life scenarios that is beautifully visualized and written with a strong message for love and peace where people could actually relate to the strong portrayed characters to their real lives and feel every little emotion of the character throughout the movie.The story of Baran revolves around two very strong characters; 'Lateef', a seventeen years old Kurdish worker who works at a building site in Tehran; and 'Baran', an eight years old girl whose family is a poor illegal Afghani immigrant. 'Lateef' is a lazy, carefree and hot-headed guy who works as a caregiver of all the crew working at the site and manages the kitchen providing the workers tea, water, and food. The turning point comes when one of the old Afghani workers 'Memar' faces an accident and gets hospitalized. He begs the humble building contractor to give his responsibilities of work to his eight years old eldest son 'Rehmat' as he is the only one who could earn money to support his big family. 'Rehmat' fails to carry the heavy loads due to his little age and the contractor makes him swap the responsibilities with 'Lateef' who instantly gets jealous of him and tries his every effort to let him down from the post. One day, on his mission to tease 'Rehmat' in the kitchen, he finds out that he is actually a beautiful little girl disguised as a boy. Her beauty, personality and simplicity makes him fell for her eventually. Then, he tries his every effort to help her and make her feel his affection for her. Every coming day, 'Lateef' feels that he is getting more emotional, sensitive and a better human being by admiring her, her simplicity and personality and tries to be like the person she is. The conflict comes when the Iranian government issues an order to stop all Afghani immigrants to work in Iran and move back to their country and sends forces to arrest them. 'Baran' loses her work in the building site and faces many ups and downs by doing different harder jobs. 'Lateef' stalks her and feels her pain. He is in so much love that he wants to keep 'Baran' away from every pain and hurdle in her way and spends his money and everything that he had and makes her and her family to move back to their country.The ending scene of the movie is very beautifully and dramatically visualized. 'Baran' is sitting on a Tonga in a veil with her family with all their luggage to migrate back to their country Afghanistan and 'Lateef' is standing in front of her with a very peaceful look that he finally succeeded to vanish all her pains and grieves away from her. The Tonga starts moving and 'Baran' removes her veil from her face and looks at 'Lateef' and gives him a smile showing that she's happy and thankful and she has felt his affection for her and 'Lateef' smiles back that he got her message and goes back happily.The amazing camera work, beautiful background score and amazing story keeps the audience engaged till the end of the movie, both emotionally and visually. Every character shows a very strong personality with emotions for humanity and peace. Baran fulfills every aspect to be a blockbuster emotional drama movie by touching audience's heart. More importantly, Baran tells the audience an important message that the greatest thing in the world is just to love and be loved in return. I would definitely give this movie a 10/10 and would definitely recommend it to every movie buff out there.

I hardly can remember when I saw a love movie in which I had no idea how it would end, just before the last scenes. It is just amazing the tension this movie embodies in every gesture. In a world that Hollywood crap stinks all over the place, a love movie in which there is no kiss and not even a touch, but still so much substance is a miracle. It shows the meaning of the true art: to open horizons, to excite the mind and to comfort the heart. Friendship, love, sacrifice, but overall a profound metanoia are all bursting step by step as the events unfold and lead us following the hero to a state of profound accomplishment in which love transforms everything around, even a trivial rain pouring in a foot's mark.

It is not bulky classic novels but little short stories of literature which remains in your memory long-lasting once you finished it. Majidi's films are like simple beautiful piece of art, it's same as reading Oscar Wilde or O Henry's classic short stories. He knows very well where to mark underline & where to put ellipsis in a film. Set in Iran, it tells the story of an afghani refugee working father whose leg injury threatens his family's future. A child of his starts working on behalf of his father at construction site. A young co-worker named Lateef's burning hate towards child transformed by a surprising discovery that a child is a young woman in disguise. For the first time in his life, he's in love. He keeps the secret to his heart & helps her with utter unconditional devotion that will change the whole dynamics of his life. Well it's more difficult to make a simple artistic film than making a complex piece of art & its Simplicity & portrayal of natural emotions in his films which is striking the right chords. Silence of the girl is the most felt part of the film. And what a poetic end- the last foot print impression of the girl in his life, that even rain can't wash it away.A beautiful piece of art.Do I have to say Must Watch? Ratings-9.5/10

Something must be there in the air of Iran! How can they repeatedly make such good films? What is it about this country's landscape/culture/socio-economic circumstances that is so unique, that seems like it cannot be replicated anywhere else... I've watched many Iranian films over the years and each one of them has been a cinematic treat. Iranian filmmakers have truly raised the bar of cinema. If films are about capturing a slice of human life, presenting it as justly as possible and thereby helping us understand ourselves better, than I think Iranian filmmakers have done just that...over and over again!'Baran' is again a gem of a film - basically a love story which beautifully talks about the prevailing socio-cultural dynamics in Iran at the time. Hossein Abedini as Lateef is excellent - your typical lovable rogue who has an insatiable propensity for mischief but is basically good at heart! Mohammad Amir Naji as Memar is absolutely endearing! You cannot help but be touched by this man's kindness and his subtle paternal attitude towards Lateef. Mohammad Amir Naji was also there in 'Children of Heaven' and even in that he was so amazing! He must be major actor in Iran or at least I hope he is! And Zahra Bahrami as Baran - a very controlled beautiful performance.The "still sad music of humanity" reverberates in Iranian cinema all the time except that it is also complimented with refreshing doses of humour and joy revolving everyday situations and actions. Watch 'Baran' for another example of good cinema from Iran! Thankfully there's plenty of it there and plenty for us to see, enjoy and may be even learn...