14/05 - CANNES DAILY ON NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS

ENTERTAINMENT / CANNES FILM FESTIVAL / CANNES DAILY / 14/05 - CANNES DAILY ON NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS

14 May 2009 — Sometimes you watch a movie and find yourself thinking, "Get me out of here!" Something entirely different happens when you watch No One Knows About Persian Cats. You become so concerned about the welfare of the film's characters (many of them non-actors playing themselves) you find yourself thinking, "Get them out of there!" — them referring to a bunch of talented indie rockers, and there being the Iranian police state that punishes thought crimes with prison and public floggings. If you have trouble believing indie rock could be dangerous, go see No One Knows About Persian Cats. The film's director, Bahman Ghobadi, was arrested twice while shooting in Teheran. Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who wrote the film, was released from prison May 11th, two days before the start of the Cannes Film Festival where Persian Cats is the opening film in the "Un Certain Regard" program. One of the film's main characters, a hustler and would-be rock impresario named Nader (Hamed Behdad), insists there are no fewer than 312 indie bands in the Iranian capital, and from what we see, none of them has it easy. These bands are underground in the truest sense. They rehearse in tunnels and basements and dream of playing their music in the open, of traveling to rock festivals in other countries. They have Joy Division and Nirvana posters on their walls, and one character fantasizes about going to Iceland to see Sigur Rós. No One Knows About Persian Cats focuses on a harmless pair of rockers named Negar (Negar Shaghaghi) and Ashkan (Ashkan Koshanejad). Ghobadi's resourceful camera follows the couple through and under Teheran's streets as they search for a way out. Negar reads Kafka's Metamorphosis and Ashkan has a mother in Germany, and they veer from hopes of leaving Iran to fear about the consequences of trying to do so. Persian Cats makes a convincing politcal statement but it also has some very funny moments, and the soundtrack is superb. (We can expect Persian Cats to do for Iranian music what Buena Vista Social Club did for Cuban music.) Among the film's stand-out musical performances are "Wake Up God" by a rapper called Hichkas; a soul ballad by Rana Farhan; and a heavy metal band rehearsing in a cowshed. Some of the bands sing in Persian, some in English, and some are willing to sing anything that might enhance their chances of obtaining an exit visa. No One Knows About Persian Cats bowled over audiences during its Cannes premiere tonight. So it shouldn't be too long before everyone knows about Teheran's indie rock scene. — Randall KoralThis year NESPRESSO has Cannes covered, inside and out. Vincent Maraval gives us his take on the films his company, Wild Bunch, is screening during the festival ("Un Autre Regard," exclusively on NESPRESSO's website, daily at 6 p.m.). And Randall Koral, NESPRESSO's Cannes correspondent, serves up his impressions of the films and festivities as they happen ("Cannes Daily", 11 a.m. CET).