September 3 @ 20:00 – 21:40
Even to come and sit with friends, and possibly with a glass of wine in the comfort of Ditchling Village Hall and view My Favourite Cake, is a kind of political act, given the nature and history of this remarkable film. Now imagine you live in Iran, the Authorities have refused the film a public viewing licence: the film’s directors are under suspended sentence for spreading lies and producing vulgar content. They’ve had all their film making equipment confiscated. Viewing the film in private, if you managed to get hold of a copy, risks falling foul of the Morality Police.
Now you begin to get a sense of the context within which My Favourite Cake was made, why it was made and the supreme artistry of its attack on the Regime’s on going repression of women’s rights. You take, as the film’s central character an elderly woman. In itself this is an affront – you just don’t do that in Iranian cinema. Now you charge your central character with powerful feelings, not just of the isolation that has come to her with the passing years, but with a longing for life that refuses to lie down, and yes lust, and her determination to do something about it.
There is a wonderfully comedic irony about her choice of partner, a hapless taxi driver of her own age and every step in their whirlwind “romance” adds insult and injury to the official cultural version of how the elderly should behave.
This is powerful cinema, delivered with a gentleness and sense of ridicule that makes for an unexpected evening’s viewing.
Persian with English subtitles. 97m Directed by Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha
A personal view by guest critic Beth Travers
Ah yes, My Favourite Cake – though I would have appreciated a slice or two
to comfort me after this film. It is a gut-wrenching portrayal of loneliness and
isolation of two, single 70-year-olds living in the hustle of modern-day Tehran.
This award-winning Iranian film follows seventy-year-old Mahin and her
attempt to revitalise her life after the loss of her husband. From a hilarious
depiction of female friendships, to heroism in the face of the oppressive
Iranian morality police, co-directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash
Sanaeeha beautifully capture a revival of love and romance.
The question arises from the beginning of the film – is it possible to find love
once again at such an age? Mahin proves quite easily that it is, even under
the constraints of the Islamic Republic regime. She determinedly sets her
heart on rediscovering life with a partner, unabashedly inviting cab driver and
military veteran, Faramarz (played by Esmail Mehrabi ) into her home for
some of her “favourite cake”. Admittedly I felt dazzled by her boldness, Lili
Farhadpour magically captured that universal excitement and enjoyment of
female pursuit typically associated with young, carefree (and predominantly
western) women. She proved the desire to be seen and for physical touch
never dies as we grow older.
Esmail won my heart with his loveable, charming smile and dance moves that
had viewers (such as myself) crying on their sofas still with no cake in
sight…
Beth
