While not as contextually rich nor brilliantly constructed as Ashgar Farhadi's A Separation or About Elly, Fireworks Wednesday is still another expertly crafted domestic drama from the talented Iranian filmmaker, which challenges the viewers perceptions from start to finish, delivering a powerful tale of domestic strife. The story follows Rouhi, a young-bride-to-be who makes her living working for a cleaning agency. Rouhi's latest work assignment finds her at the apartment of an affluent married couple about to leave on holiday, but on her arrival she is quickly sucked into the couple's explosive domestic conflict. The film opens capturing the loving relationship Rouhi has with her soon-to-be husband, displaying her exuberance and excitement about starting a life with her husband. Once Rouhi witnesses the deceit and treacherous behavior of this married couple, her worldview is effectively challenged, with the young woman's presuppositions about the nature of married life being challenged. Taking place during Iranian New Year, the titular fireworks are literal, but they pale in comparison to the metaphorical fireworks which Rouhi witnesses in this couples home. It's not at all surprising that Ashgar Farhadi has a background in directing stage plays in Iran, as Fireworks Wednesday, and really all his work, shows an impressive understanding of staging and extremely well-written dialogue that is nuanced and at the right times, ambiguous. Farhadi cloaks the events of this explosive marriage in ambiguity, constantly playing with the viewer's perceptions, as he shifts the perspective between the wife and the husband. Fireworks Wednesday isn't a film that has any interest in picking a side per se, instead the film aims at the larger aspects of marriage, examining the fragility of such a commitment, as well as the hard-work it takes to maintain happiness. Ashgar Farhadi's Fireworks Wednesday is a rather explosive, off-the-wall domestic drama that is another great example of the filmmaker's impressive understanding of characterization and point-of-view.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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