Crimson Gold
Jafar Panahi's film exposes the cruelties and inequities of a society sharply polarized by class and corrupted by selfishness, snobbery and cynicism.
-- A.O. Scott, New York Times
Crimson Gold
Two master filmmakers, Abba Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry) and Jafar Panahi (The Circle, Taxi) team up as writer and director, respectively, on Crimson Gold, a subtle tragedy on class conflict in modern Iran.
Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin, a real-life pizza delivery man who has schizophrenia) is a lumbering war veteran swollen by cortisone (for war-induced pain) and reduced to delivering pizzas at night. Through his nightly rounds, he bears witness to the rewards and vanities of the city’s wealthy. He is humiliated when a jewelry shop owner won’t allow him in his store, and under pressure to get married, Hussein awkwardly aspires to higher ground. When an eccentric socialite gives him a taste of luxury, Hussein can no longer accept his lowly status.
Kiarostami based the story on an actual newspaper account of a botched robbery attempt at a Tehranian jewelry store by a desperate pizza delivery man.
"Hot enough to have been banned in its home country, and resonant enough to command our watchful participation." -- Jan Stuart, NEWSDAY
"Combines the talents of two of Iran's most forceful critics of their country's theocratic regime." -- Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER
"A deceptively modest undertaking that brilliantly combines unpretentious humanism and impeccable formal values." -- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
"A flawlessly executed character study." -- Richard James Havis, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin, a real-life pizza delivery man who has schizophrenia) is a lumbering war veteran swollen by cortisone (for war-induced pain) and reduced to delivering pizzas at night. Through his nightly rounds, he bears witness to the rewards and vanities of the city’s wealthy. He is humiliated when a jewelry shop owner won’t allow him in his store, and under pressure to get married, Hussein awkwardly aspires to higher ground. When an eccentric socialite gives him a taste of luxury, Hussein can no longer accept his lowly status.
Kiarostami based the story on an actual newspaper account of a botched robbery attempt at a Tehranian jewelry store by a desperate pizza delivery man.
"Hot enough to have been banned in its home country, and resonant enough to command our watchful participation." -- Jan Stuart, NEWSDAY
"Combines the talents of two of Iran's most forceful critics of their country's theocratic regime." -- Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER
"A deceptively modest undertaking that brilliantly combines unpretentious humanism and impeccable formal values." -- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
"A flawlessly executed character study." -- Richard James Havis, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Genre
Drama
Web Site
Runtime
95
Language
Farsi
Director
Jafar Panahi
Writer(s)
Abbas Kiarostami
Cast
Hossain Emadeddin,
Kamyar Sheisi,
Azita Rayeji,
Shahram Vaziri,
Ehsan Amani,
Pourang Nakhael,
Koveh Najmabadi,
Saber Safael
Awards:
Winner, Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival
Played at
Laemmle Virtual Cinema 6.25.21 - 7.29.21
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