The Accordion (Jafar Panahi, 2009)

Am I allowed to use "sentimental" as a positive description? I don't even know if sentiment can be considered a positive thing in this day and age, but I am about to. Based on the two Panahi movies I've seen, Offside and now this short by him, I would definitely say he at least leans towards the sentimental side. Perhaps I'm just so unaccustomed to this level of sweet, honest caring for humanity that it strikes me as sentiment. Either way, I cannot say enough good things about both of these movies. The only thing keeping me from rating The Accordion even higher is that it is a short, albeit one that somehow almost made me cry in almost 9 minutes. But no short, no matter how good, can quite grab me the way a feature can. I need time to let myself breathe into a movie, to get a feeling for what it's trying to do while it takes me wherever it's going. But the 9 minutes of this movie bodes extremely well for the feature film Panahi was making that goes along with it, assuming he is ever released from prison and allowed to make it. Now I don't know if I can ever watch this again, actually. At least, not until he's released.

The film, as it is, succinctly addresses ideas of forgiveness and solidarity in the face of adversity. It is a moving portrait, powerful not because of ideas it tackles (which would fit just as easily in an after-school special), but in Panahi's patience in handling them. The pacing, in particular, uses a soft and quiet kind of reflection to emphasize the emotions without thrusting them upon the viewer. It's a delicate balance when it comes to dealing with emotional material, and one Panahi (again, based on the small amount of his work I've seen) may be better at handling than any living director I'm familiar with. As a small aside, and something absolutely worthy of note, is his continuing interest in female androgyny in Iran. It's a much smaller aspect of the whole than in Offside, but is a less explored facet than other female rights issues and yet another reason to wish for his speedy release. I wish I hadn't waited until he was in prison to start caring about his work.