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‘The Great Yawn of History’ Review: A Treasure-Hunt for Certainty in Iranian Caves
Aliyar Rasti’s debut, 'The Great Yawn of History,' follows a religious man and a young agnostic negotiating their faith during a superstitious scheme.
But since picking up lost money is haram — or religiously forbidden in Islam — he employs a world-weary young agnostic, Shoja (Amirhossein Hosseini), to accompany him on his journey, resulting in a tale that’s as mysterious and melancholy as it is wryly funny. The specter of Iran’s staggering youth unemployment looms large over the story, right from the moment Beitollah begins luring in wayward young men for a job interview by dropping counterfeit American $100 bills on the ground. As Rasti combines the worlds of faith and superstition with desperate negotiations rooted in economic downturn, his keen eye ensures that light, camera, shadow and blocking always take unexpected form, making “The Great Yawn of History” a constant delight, even at its most meditative.
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