Life+1 Day is a Persian foreign language film based out of Tehran, Iran.
The film follows the story of an impoverished family living in the neighbourhoods of Tehran.
Life+1 Day primarily focuses on the youngest daughter of the family, Somaieh, who is to be married in the near future. Said marriage will see her move out of the country and away from her family.
The film touches on many themes including gender roles in Iranian society, the importance of family and the place traditional societal values have in current times.
Synopsis
As alluded to above Life+1 Day is a film that focuses on a family living in present day Tehran.
The family consists of an aging and ailing mother, two sons - one who lives a dutiful life, the other who struggles with drug abuse, two daughters - Somaieh, the always respectful one and her naive sister. The family also has another son who is very young, so young in fact that Somaieh has almost raised him as a son of her own.
They all live under the same roof, living in the same house their family has owned for decades. They go through many struggles just like any other family but the film follows the family as they deal with many overwhelming and worrying challenges.
Somaieh and her brother Morteza (the responsible brother) always seem to have their family's best interest at heart and shoulder much of their family's burden. The two continually look after the family's finances and do their best to assure their family's social standing.
With Somaieh having already agreed to marry into a rich Afghani family, their family is hit with a handful of other problems. While trying to overcome said obstacles the family learns just how hard life may be without her and Somaieh realizes just how hard it will be to leave them.
The remainder of the film follows the family as they deal with their problems as the date of Somaieh's marriage and departure looms closer.
Important Themes
Life+1 Day is a very unique film in it's own right. Currently Iranian film is showing much promise as screenwriters are beginning to tell more stories that reflect modern day Iranian societal realities.
Many films - Life+ 1 Day included - tell very personal stories that explore the many complexities present in Iranian society.
Furthermore, Life+1 Day touches on many nodes relating to gender norms and the role of women in Iranian culture. Most specifically, Somaieh's character possesses the traits that many perceive to be ideal by many in the Middle East.
She is quiet, kind, respectful, caring, diligent and almost never makes a fuss. But she is much more than that. We discover that she is a very intricate woman who wears her heart on her sleeve. She has many modern and traditional values and sometimes struggles to toe the line between the two. Her character is something of an example of a woman caught in between two worlds, that of the conventional and the more modernized world.
Today, many women in Iran fight a similar battle, while women's rights within the country remain quite restricted. Women face intense discrimination in Iranian society. Especially when they speak on issues like marriage, child custody or divorce. And many women have been jailed for publicly speaking out in favour of equal rights.
Many men and women in Iran are in favour of inclusive gender equality policies but much of the political power in the country still remains with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader.
Even with a president and parliament no laws or change can occur without being signed off by the Ayatollah.
Conservative reporters who regularly support the Ayatollah in the news have even gone out to state that gender equality is a notion that is "unacceptable to the Islamic Republic".
It is clear to see the women's rights still remains to be one of the biggest issues within Iran. But with such a "traditional" government, much of the progress remains to make any large scale difference.
With just this small bit of knowledge on the matter it is easy to see just how complex gender equality issues are within Iran.
With the barriers to the spread of equality and feminism seeming to be almost unmovable without modern change at the highest state level.
Conclusion
Life+1 Day is a film that touches on many underlying cultural values in modern Iranian society.
It explores the roles women have in Iranian society and how life is like living in a traditional political climate.
The film reflects on the importance of family and their relationship to traditions and socio-religious practices.
Life+1 Day is another prime example of the Iranian film industry succeeding in producing film that embrace realism, bringing important societal issues to the forefront.
