The fall is shaping up to be quite dense for this beautiful art form we share every month. The marquee films start to hit theaters in October, the international community is energized, the Denver Film Festival in November looks to be stellar, and the Denver community will see a multitude of events. Stay tuned for more. This month’s column celebrates two international works that thrill, delight, and simultaneously make us cringe at points. In short, they represent the best of this beautiful art form.

A Hero (Iran—2021)

Asghar Farhadi is a treasure—one of the world’s great filmmakers and storytellers. That he was born, lives, and makes his films in Iran is both a blessing and a curse. He is restricted in numerous ways, but those restrictions also allow him to create poetic beauty in the streets, houses, and in this film, the prisons of Iran. When Hitchcock was shackled by the Hollywood censors, he found workarounds. Farhadi does the same, and his works are gripping, real, timeless, and penetratingly emotional. His most famous is A Separation (2011), winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar and controversially so. It told the tense story of a Teheran couple in the middle of a divorce. A Hero, from last year, tells a similarly difficult story. In the midst of the madness, arguing, the crowded streets, the cars, and the honking horns of Teheran, the humanity still rises. Farhadi, however, can see the best and worst in us.

A Hero

Amir (Rahim Soltani) is in prison for nonpayment of a debt (evidently fairly common in Iran). When given a two-day leave, he endeavors to pay off some of that debt, convince his debtor to release his bond, marry his girlfriend, and return to his family (and special-needs son who desperately needs his father). Amir is soft-spoken, seemingly scrupulous (or is he?), and he even instigates the action with a selfless deed. What proceeds is so byzantine that we are gripped by the twists and turns while covering our eyes at multiple intervals. It is exceedingly difficult to watch at points, exquisitely poignant at points, and at other points, just unendearingly cruel. This description may come close to Farhadi’s point, but the film goes far beyond.

The acting is brilliant, and with such a large cast and difficult filming locations/conditions, it all points back to the director; Farhadi is the star. The cinematography is entrenched in realism, the editing carries us along, the sound is all ambient, and the setting is the modern city of Teheran, with a few dashes/reminders of its rich past. Still, everything points back to Farhadi at the helm—he can extricate meaning and humanity from this difficult milieu, and no matter where we live or who we are, we can see ourselves (and those around us) in his work. It is flat brilliant.

You will like this if you enjoyed A Separation, A Better Life, and/or Bicycle Thieves.

Available on Amazon Prime.

Bang, Bang Baby (Italy—2022)

A suburban teen who learns of her family’s Mafia ties; a murdering grandmother-Don; a rogue father/son who lies, cheats, and steals; a strip-club full of characters out of a Western; and an oversized southern-Italian lug obsessed with George Michael populate this quirky and energetic Italian-language series set in 1980s Italy. That is just the tip of this screaming iceberg, and while the story and its ridiculously bizarre characters and frenetic energy are part of the appeal, the style rounds it out. A dash of Quentin Tarantino, a helping of Martin Scorsese, a sprinkling of Jane Campion, and a heaping of Federico Fellini add up to this dazzling plate of pasta with a side of broccoli rabe and a pistachio-encrusted-cannoli for dessert. Keep the gun and take the cannolis.

Bang, Bang Baby

Young Alice (Ah-lee-chay) lives a quiet life with her single mother in suburban Milan. Alice’s father was murdered when she was little, but when she finds out he may be alive, she begins a quest to find him that turns over a river of rocks. Uncovering her father’s past, reuniting with his Mafia family, and entangling herself in the sordid affairs of her father might seem a bit rich for a teen, but Alice has it in her blood. She covers up a murder, burns a body, unblinkingly lies to police, defies her mother, befriends a gaggle of strippers, finds love with a mafia driver, conscripts her beanstalk gay friend into mayhem, defends everyone she loves, …, I am a bit lightheaded just writing this sentence! All those events take place in just the first few episodes.

The series is steeped in the pop culture of the 80s and beamed directly from the imagination of creator Andrea DiStefano. Strap in and enjoy the ride. You will laugh, you will cackle, and you will guffaw. (If you read this column, you should enjoy the moment—you know I don’t write about comedies very much. You have my girlfriend to thank for this review.)

You will enjoy this if you liked Monty Python, Life is Beautiful, and/or anything from Wes Anderson.

Available now on Amazon Prime.

Vincent Piturro, PhD., is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at MSU Denver. Contact him directly at vpiturro@msudenver.com or follow him on Twitter. For more reviews, search The Indie Prof at FrontPorchNE.com.