{"id":10320,"date":"2018-12-20T14:02:02","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T12:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/?p=10320"},"modified":"2018-12-20T14:06:33","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T12:06:33","slug":"tokyo-film-review-cold-sweat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/2018\/12\/tokyo-film-review-cold-sweat\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo Film Review: \u2018Cold Sweat\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

VARIETY<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

By\u00a0Richard Kuipers<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>CREDIT: COURTESY TOKYO FILM FESTIVAL<\/span><\/h6>\n

\u2018Cold Sweat\u2019<\/h1>\n

A female indoor soccer player takes her case to court when her husband won’t let her leave the country to play in the biggest match of her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Soheil Beiraghi<\/span><\/p>\n

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With:\u00a0Baran Kosari, Amir Jadidi<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n

1 hour 28 minutes<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An angry woman rails against the system in the punchy and timely \u201cCold Sweat<\/a>,\u201d a fact-based drama about an Iranian national futsal team member whose husband uses his legal right to prevent her traveling abroad and playing in the most important game of her life. This intelligently written, well performed and emotionally rewarding second feature by writer-director\u00a0Soheil Beiraghi<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cMe\u201d) will enlighten and entertain audiences everywhere. A hit in local cinemas when released in late September, \u201cCold Sweat\u201d ought to enjoy a long festival life at the very least. French arthouse outfit Sophie Dulac Distribution will screen the film theatrically Nov. 28.<\/span><\/p>\n

A tale with especially strong appeal in these #TimesUp times, \u201cCold Sweat\u201d draws from the real-life cases of many Iranian sportswomen whose dreams were dashed when their husbands invoked patriarchal laws. Its success at the local box office comes in the wake of well-publicized protests at the men\u2019s soccer World Cup in June, when fans held up flags calling for an end to the ban on female spectators at the matches. The film contains thematic ties with Jafar Panahi\u2019s \u201cOffside\u201d (2006), about women attempting to sneak into a World Cup qualifier at Tehran\u2019s Azidi Stadium.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the exciting opening sequences of \u201cCold Sweat,\u201d a packed house of female fans is watching the national futsal (indoor soccer) team compete for a place in the Asian Nations Cup final, to be held in Kuala Lumpur. After being told by female supervisor Mehraneh Noori (Sahar Dowlatshahi) to \u201ckeep your sleeves rolled down and headscarves up, no skin on display,\u201d Iran clinches the win. Largely to thank for the victory is Afrooz Ardestani (Baran Kosaris), the team\u2019s star player and an inspirational captain who\u2019s dedicated 11 years of her life to the sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

Afrooz\u2019s joy turns to despair when she attempts to board the flight to Malaysia. Her husband, Yasser Shahoseini (Amir Jadidi), a smooth-talking TV star who hosts a program called \u201cThe Good Old Days,\u201d has banned Afrooz from leaving the country. The law does not require him to provide a reason, and none is given.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beiraghi\u2019s screenplay expertly maps out the formidable social, legal and emotional obstacles Afrooz must overcome if she\u2019s going to get to Malaysia in time. The biggest problem is her estrangement from Yasser. The couple have lived apart for a year, with no chance of reconciliation. A no-fuss divorce was expected, but it\u2019s apparent Yasser is more interested in revenge than signing paperwork.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though everyone around Afrooz including bestie and fellow team member Masi (Hoda Zeinolabedin) knows Yasser is a calculating creep, their advice is to sway him with kind words and flattery. When that strategy backfires and Yasser\u2019s vicious nature comes nakedly to the fore, Afrooz gets seething mad in ways that will have many viewers cheering her on from the sidelines. After taking to social media and angrily confronting Yasser on a busy street in broad daylight, she enlists the help of Pantea (Leili Rashidi), a lawyer and women\u2019s rights advocate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What follows is a gripping odyssey through a legal system and bureaucracy that\u2019s heavily stacked in men\u2019s favor. Beiraghi negotiates the tricky terrain with great skill. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in a lengthy, single-shot scene in which Afrooz, Pantea and Yasser appear before a divorce magistrate, who\u2019s heard but not seen. After Yasser admits the marriage is finished and that Afrooz is making no financial claim, the magistrate questions him at length as to why he won\u2019t simply sign the papers that will free her. As this exchange goes around in circles it becomes clear the magistrate is at the very least puzzled by Yasser\u2019s attitude and sympathetic to Afrooz\u2019s cause, but he cannot help her because the law will not allow it.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Kosari (\u201cI\u2019m Not Angry,\u201d \u201cMainline\u201d) is spot-on as the fiercely determined heroine who risks not just her sporting career but all-important social status. Rashidi is terrific as the fast-talking advocate and Jadidi nails it as the reptilian husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photographed in a clean, unfussy style that\u2019s well suited to the subject matter, \u201cCold Sweat\u201d is briskly edited and punctuated by a peppy score by prolific composer Karen Homayoonfar. All other technical work is on the money.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tokyo Film Review: \u2018Cold Sweat\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Reviewed at Tokyo Film Festival (Asian Future \u2014 competing), Oct. 29, 2018. (Also in Fajr, Stockholm film festivals.) Original title: \u201cAraghe-sard\u201d Running time: 88 MIN.<\/span><\/p>\n

PRODUCTION<\/strong>: (Iran) A Filmiran release of a Soheil Beiraghi, Tal\u2019at Dindar production. (International sales: Noori Pictures, Paris.) Producer: Mehdi Davari.<\/span><\/p>\n

CREW<\/strong>: Director, writer: Soheil Beiraghi. Camera (color, HD): Farshad Mohammadi. Editors: Bahram Dehghani, Mohammad Najarian. Music:\u00a0Karen Homayoonfar.<\/span><\/p>\n

WITH<\/strong>: Baran Kosari, Amir JadidiLeili Rashidi, Hoda Zeinolabedin, Sahar Dowlatshahi, Abbas Moosavi, Maryam Sarmadi, Sogand Soleimani. (Farsi dialogue)<\/span><\/p>\n

MUSIC BY<\/strong>: Karen Homayoonfar<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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