Wednesday 17 June 2015

Film: Divorce Iranian Style

Ah, another Tuesday, another Film Nite. Sad that we're breaking up for the summer - this is the Meetup group I attend most. Anyway, last night was a talk entitled Divorce Iranian Style - sounded interesting, so I confirmed my attendance. And it was free.. unusually for Film Nite talks. A special for the end of the season, perhaps?

Now, yesterday I had the most rotten stomach ache, so my attendance was in doubt. But, well, it was Film Nite, and the group is the most fantastic company! I wasn't too bad, so I bravely headed out - slightly late, after Skyping my mother. Unfortunately, I got to the station just in time to see a train pulling out - a few minutes to wait for the next one. During which time I discovered that standing is not the best thing for a stomach ache. Pity, because I ended up standing all the way to Leicester Square - and crammed into a corner as far as Piccadilly Circus.

Really, by the time I got off I was feeling quite unwell. I also knew I was going to be slightly late, which made the long, long escalator ride quite tortuous. And what was going on in the area last night I don't know, but I have never seen so many people exiting the station - or so much traffic, backed up waiting to turn onto Shaftesbury Avenue. After a two-part well timed dash across the road, I finally got to Soho House - where I climbed six flights of stairs without collapsing (also without being approached, for once, to know what my business was), and pretty much collapsed into one of the cinema's comfy seats.

Well, the organiser had started talking, but I don't think I'd missed much. Turned out - as he'd warned might happen - Kim Longinotto wasn't there (although he didn't know why). It also transpired that Divorce Iranian Style was the name of a film of hers, filmed in and around a family court in Tehran. And the format of the presentation was to watch the film - paused at key points so he could ask us how we were finding it so far, and suggest to us various things we might not have picked up on.

Now, as the film progressed, it started to look increasingly familiar - and I realised that I had seen it before! years ago though, and I remembered absolutely none of the storyline. So that was fine. And I agree with his assessment - this is a fascinating insight into a culture and a place that few, if any of us have visited. As the stories develop, you notice less the chadors that the women are obliged to wear on the premises. Instead, you begin to get to know the characters as they argue their cases.

It can be quite shocking to Western eyes. Inevitably, we are shocked by the dress code, and the traditions required of women in this society - they are not supposed to leave home without permission, talk to a man who is not a relative without permission (even on the phone), study without permission: the last significant, given that a couple of women in this film were married at the age of 14. And although these cases involve divorce, women can't initiate it - it's always the men. Mind you, someone present who is familiar with sharia law explained that there is a form of divorce that can be initiated by women- just with a different name.

And, as with all good documentaries, it's not all doom and gloom. Comedy is provided by the clerk's little girl, who comes there after school and plays around the court. And indeed, the women themselves, as remarked on several times by members of the audience, aren't as downtrodden as you might expect - no indeed, they're feisty ladies, determined to get their way. Which they often do.. eventually, and perhaps by means of cajoling, rather than through standard legal channels. Mind, whatever concessions they do receive don't tend to include money - this tends to be where the husbands draw the line.

A fascinating fly-on-the-wall look into the Iranian court system. Recommended, and available cheaply on dvd from Fopp in Covent Garden, I believe. Or slightly more expensively on Amazon.

Afterwards, I needed desperately to go to the loo - so I ran downstairs to do that, then trotted back up again, because I knew they wouldn't have left yet. I was right. And we all eventually made our way to The Spice of Life, which I might finally be able to find my own way to! By the time our group of four had got drinks though, there wasn't any room with the rest of the group, so we sat at a nearby table, and made our way closer when another table came available. And the chat was good, the topics ranging from films, away to social issues, and back to films again. Typically for this enthusiastic group, we were there till closing - do NOT expect an early night if you accompany them to the pub after. We're heading to a film next Tuesday before we break up for the summer, apparently - which one not yet decided.

Too late to blog when I got home, of course. Now, tonight I'd confirmed for a concert by the Trans Siberian March Band with the World Music Meetup. But you know, my stomach is still acting up - and then I thought to check, and the concert is standing only. So I'm passing - another quiet evening online beckons! Tomorrow, I'm in the Guildford office, and I'll be too tired to go out tomorrow evening. For Friday though, I saw a group heading to the Traces: The 7 Fingers circus show at the Peacock. And I do love my circus! They have discount tickets, but I was too late to avail of that offer. But you know, I nabbed a ticket for myself in the rear stalls that's even cheaper! ;-) Check out the official website - rear stalls here are just fine.

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