KARACHI, Jan 30: With the various brutal conflicts that have played themselves out in the Middle East over the decades, many may have forgotten the bloody war Iran and Iraq fought from 1980 to 1988. However, as the Iranian film Ruz-i-Sevom (The Third Day), shown at Khana-i-Farhang, the Iranian Culture Centre, on Friday as part of the ongoing Iranian feature film show proved, the war has left an indelible, emotional mark on the Iranian consciousness.

The film show has been organized to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran and will run till February 3, with usually two films shown between 3pm and 7pm.

Released in 2007 and directed by Mohammad Hossein Latifi, the film documents the struggle of a small band of Iranian combatants protecting their town from the invading forces of Saddam. Ruz-i-Sevom seems to be set in 1980, either right after or during the Iraqi capture of Khorramshahr, the once prosperous Iranian port city located in the border province of Khuzestan, where the marshy Shatt Al Arab (Arvand Rud to the Iranians) divides Iraq and Iran.

The Iranians took back Khorramshahr in 1982 and this event marks one of the most epic battles of the whole conflict.

Written by Mehdi Sajjadechi, the film is a real tearjerker. Don’t expect any politically correct cinematic discourse on the horrors of war, as though the movie is full of battle scenes, its central thrust revolves around projecting the small band of warriors – presumably Basijis – as defenders of truth and honour, fending off the evil Ba’athists and protecting their families for God and country.

And it works. Even if one does not identify with the politics of the war, one cannot help get emotionally involved with the characters as the protagonist Reza (Puria Pursorkh) desperately struggles with his comrades to try and rescue his injured sister Samireh (Baran Kosari) left behind at their home, which has been occupied by the Iraqis.

There is an interesting plot twist involving an Iraqi officer, Fuad (Hamed Behdad), who fancies Samireh, lending an air of romance to the heavy duty ideological thrust of the picture.

Though the story is engaging, the pacing suffers at times, while some of the night-time scenes were extremely badly lit (or was it the projector?). As for the battle scenes, don’t expect Apocalypse Now or Platoon. Suffice to say, they get the job done and keep the narrative moving forward, but don’t expect Coppola to give up his day job. Besides, the Iranians are known more for their story-telling than for their special effects. And isn’t a good story what great cinema is all about, after all? However, the fact that one character wore what seemed to be designer sunshades and bore a disturbing resemblance to Rambo was a bit annoying, as troops hardly had time for such trivial pursuits in the unforgiving badlands of the front line.

Ruz-i-Sevom, shot on location in the starkly beautiful, date palm covered Khuzestan, won two awards at the 2007 Fajr Film Festival: the Crystal Simorgh for best directing and best film. Running at around 90 minutes, one wishes the soundtrack would have been left in Farsi with Urdu or English subtitles, as the Urdu dialogues can at times be jarring.—QAM