In the Arms of the Tree, the Iranian film selected to represent Iran in the International Oscar category, features an intimate yet universal issue. This film features a lot of potential for the film’s director, Babak Lotfi Khajepasha.
The film features an intimate issue relating to divorce, and the film’s aesthetic cinematography features the beautiful Iranian countryside. In the Arms of the Tree is full of symbolism. Throughout the film, the natural environment plays a major role in the character’s life and foreshadows future events.
A family issue is an intimate issue and often a fragile atmosphere. Some relations can withstand strong winds and sustain the storms, while others crumble under the slightest of storms. In this film, a couple who have been together for nearly a decade decides to call it quits. The film revolves around the storyline of how this mutual decision of theirs will affect the lives of their two sons. The film is a modern take on the nuclear family structure with heartful elements in between.
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In the Arms of the Tree: Plot
In the Arms of the Tree, two protagonists, Kimia and Farid(played by Maral Baniadam and Javad Ghamati), have decided to call off their marriage after being together for nearly a decade. They are already separated because they lead two very independent lives by being busy with the various businesses they created in their married years. What still brings the two of them together are their two sons- Taha and Alisan (Ahoura Lotfi and Rayan Lotfi). The brothers are inseparable. They both operate as a single unit, with Taha being too happy to play the role of Alisan’s big brother. They play together, they nap together, and they almost do everything together.
Kimia plans to separate from Farid; it becomes clear that the two brothers also have to be separated. But both parents are unable to break the news to their sons. The boys spend their days together under the watchful eye of their uncle Reza (Rouhollah Zamani), a lovelorn young man. He may not be the most responsible guy to look after his nephews as he gambles and finds ways to exploit them and earn cash. However, he loves them dearly. But his gambling practices come in the way of his love as he one day recruits other kids to bet money on a dangerous game: who will stay on the tracks the longest as the train barrels its way toward them?
Review- Yay or Nay?
In the Arms of the Tree is a picture full of symbolism. The film is shot mainly in the natural environment in fish farms and flower fields, in bustling streets and crowded markets, and often around the kind of trees the film’s title gestures toward. Director Khajepasha’s creative cinematography lies through the portrayal of those natural scenes. That twinkling sunlight scene often puts us in the innocent yet emotional phase of Taha and Alisan. Other elements, such as KImia’s secret( assumed to be the root cause of the separation), gradually portray the natural family drama Khajehpasha is painting.
In the Arms of the Tree, the film portrays a sensitive topic smoothly. The film tries its best not to be inoffensive at all. By portraying the central subject of a family fractured, the film is a sentimental take on a very intimate topic. At the 41st International Film Festival in Tehran, director Khajehpasha walked away with many awards for In the Arms of the Tree. The film won Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best First Film, making this film about family drama the country’s submission for this year’s International Feature Race at the Academy Awards.
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