Iranian writer/director, Asghar Farhadi returns to familiar ground for A Hero , a film reminiscent of his 2011 masterpiece, A Separation. Like that film, this deals with family, social 'contracts', stifling bureaucracy and loss of innocence. It follows the plight of Rahim Soltani, played with fantastically dim-eyed naivety by Amir Jadidi, and his attempts to gain release from prison by paying off a creditor. The backstory goes that Rahim needed a guarantor to set up a new business, so his ex-wife's brother stumped up, only to see the money disappear with Rahim's dodgy business partner. Loan-sharks need repaying, so the brother-in-law, Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh) has to cash in his daughter's dowry, depriving her of marriage. All this is winkled out during the actual plot, which is pretty labyrinthine as it stands. Needless to say, events turn more complex when Rahim's new fiancé, Farkondeh (Sahar Goldust) finds a bag carrying a number of gold coins, giving them ...
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