Pig (Khook) is so funny that it might be a big surprise for people who expect Iranian films to be serious, sad, or downright tragic. Added bonus: Leila Hatami, who has been in many sad and serious films gets to have some fun in it, too.
Pig is written and directed by Mani Haghighi. It’s about blacklisted filmmaker Hasan Kasmai (Hassan Majuni), who has not been allowed to make films for the past two years. Luckily for him, his family and for us, he IS allowed to make TV commercials.
His hilarious ad for bug-killer spray features dancing women in red who look much nicer than your average insect pests. (Oh, wait! They are not dancing, they are “moving in unison.” Dancing is not allowed, in real life or in commercials. Censorship, you know.)
Later, Hasan and his tennis-partner friend Homayoun (Siamak Ansari) borrow the insect costumes, antennae and all, to wear to a decadent costume party. (Somehow they remind me of Spanish dandies from the Middle Ages in those costumes…apart from the antennae, of course.)
(When he’s not attending costume parties or funerals, Hasan usually wears T-shirts promoting Western rock bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Kiss, etc. At least one reviewer took that as a sign that Hasan is still a child at heart. Maybe he is, but maybe he also likes those bands and those clothes. Theoretically, they could even be a political statement.)
Hasan was already upset that he could not make films, but now he has new worries. His muse and mistress Shiva Mohajer (Leila Hatami), who became a star through his films, is considering a part in a film by one of his rivals, the highly pretentious and unlikable Sohrab Saidi (Ali Mosaffa).
In a more serious vein, a serial killer is targeting Iranian filmmakers, and leaving their severed heads in public places in Tehran, with the word “pig” carved into their foreheads. Hasan is terrified that he might be the next victim, but he’s also hurt and offended because the killer must think that he’s not important enough to murder. (Pig’s director Mani Haghighi includes himself as one of the murder victims. Hasan has to identify him.)
Things get more complicated when a video of Hasan throwing a public tantrum “goes viral.” Threats uttered in the heat of the moment against two of the murder victims make him suspect No. 1 and he’s arrested by Azemat (Ali Bagheri) the sinister, high-level, pony-tailed policeman who’s been following him around.
I enjoyed Pig immensely, though I thought a few script decisions went too far. Within the first few minutes I was wondering “Censorship? What censorship?” Amazingly enough the script was approved by the Iranian authorities, despite the dancing, the mistress and many other things.
Pig (Khook)
Directed and written by Mani Haghighi
Cast: Hasan Majuni; Leila Hatami; Leili Rashidi; Parinaz Izadyar; Mina Jafarzadeh; Aynaz Azarhoosh; Ali Bagheri; Siamak Ansari; Ali Mosaffa
Language: Farsi with English subtitles
Length: 107 minutes
You can see Pig on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018, at 9:30 p.m. at Cinémathèque Québécoise (355 de Maisonneuve E.) as part of the Festival du nouveau cinéma.
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