Mohammad Rasoulof's 'Iron Island': Iran, a Sinking Ship, a Sinking Nation

A masterpiece. Mohammad Rasoulof's first feature film. It is the story of illegal squatters living on a decaying oil tanker floating in the Persian Gulf. The tanker is ruled by an old man called Captain Nemat (perhaps a nod to Captain Nemo?). He is a seemingly "benevolent" leader who patrols the ship daily to listen to the residents' troubles, directs the women's side jobs and the men's ship-dismantling work, negotiates with the outside world, and even arranges marriages for his daughters and organizes education for the children. On the other hand, he has a side that shows no mercy to those who do not follow the rules he has set. In other words, as long as they do not break the rules, he remains a kind, fatherly figure, and the people living on the ship trust him and live their lives. This strangely self-sufficient existence, on a ship that is actually slowly sinking, seems to represent a nation that is slowly dying while maintaining the status quo. The ship is full of unique characters. There is Uncle Sadegh, who is always staring at the sun looking for something; the boy Baby Fish, who rescues fish that have wandered into the leaking compartments of the ship's bottom; a teacher who is kicked and beaten for pointing out that the ship is sinking with his own inventions; and the captain's assistant, Ahmad, who has fallen in love with a girl living on the ship. The film focuses on these relatively free characters who fall outside the framework of the ruling structure, in contrast to the obedient residents. There are many episodes involving the teacher and the boy Ahmad in particular. The teacher is in charge of education, but he is concerned that the quality of education is declining because he has to teach children of different ages all at once. At one point, when heavy oil becomes available for extraction, the children are mobilized and tasked with everything from packing to transport, and education is abandoned in an instant, like a "game of house" played for popularity. In the midst of this, the teacher secretly has the children read the claim that the ship is sinking—which the captain rejected—as an example sentence in class. This shows the way of fighting for those who remain in the country. Also, Ahmad continues to break the captain's rules by falling in love with the daughter for whom the captain had arranged a different marriage. It starts with him passing her a note in the middle of the night, and although the two never meet on screen, the silent exchange that occurs again in the middle of the film is truly beautiful. Furthermore, he is punished for breaking the rules, but the severity of it is so shocking that the residents, who in a sense believed in the captain, gradually shift their perspective to that of the audience, which is depicted very skillfully.

With its deep blue sea, the eerie, pure white ship seen from the outside, and the brightly colored curtains peeking out from the stark white windows, the visuals are also wonderful, and I felt the genetic influence of Makhmalbaf-style films like 'Tales of Kish' and 'The Day I Became a Woman.' Also, the girl Ahmad falls in love with wears a golden mask that looks like something from a masquerade ball, giving her an unusual presence that no one else has. She, who never speaks a word in the film, and the very existence of her that the captain wanted to "protect," may well have been the patriarchal status quo that the captain wanted to protect. That is why it was inevitable that Ahmad and the girl would reunite at the end.

・Film Data

Original Title: جزیره آهنی
Running Time: 90 minutes
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Production: 2005 (Iran)

・Rating: 80 points

・Other works by Mohammad Rasoulof

★ Mohammad Rasoulof's 'Iron Island'Iran, a sinking ship, a sinking nation
★ Mohammad Rasoulof's 'The White Meadows'An Iranian fable seen by a man who collects tears
★ Mohammad Rasoulof's 'Goodbye'Iran, "If I'm going to be alienated at home, I'd rather be alienated abroad"