Katie Manzer
In Asghar Farhadi’s newest film, A Hero (2021), Rahim Soltani attempts to perform a good deed. Rahim is imprisoned due to his failure to repay a debt to his vindictive creditor, until his fiancée finds a handbag filled with gold coins that can be exchanged for thousands of tomans. Upon discovering that the coins will not cover the cost of his debt and deciding to return the bag, Rahim is swept up in a media frenzy and is declared a hero for his selfless act. He is given a release from prison following the reluctant consent of his creditor, but Rahim soon discovers that his story has come under scrutiny and his reputation is diminishing. In an effort to validate his claims, Rahim seeks to find the woman to whom the bag belonged, which proves to be a troublesome task. Rahim’s heroic facade begins to crack when his story becomes inconsistent and his pride gets in the way of his actions.
A Hero uses its deceptively simple premise to tell an increasingly complex story, as character motivations become hazy and Rahim’s innocent deed and its repercussions are complicated further. The concept of a moral dilemma between selfishness and sacrifice is already engaging, but when paired with the characters’ desperation and the increased pressure that comes from societal and media scrutiny, the film becomes all the more engrossing. Asghar Farhadi continues to display a mastery of depicting flawed individuals who are repeatedly crushed by the weight of their circumstances, with Rahim being an excellent example. Crippled by his inability to repay his creditor due to a lack of financial prospects, Rahim never set out to be a hero - nor a thief. Being backed into a corner, he is forced to choose the outcome that will best benefit him, even if it means giving up the gold. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” exists as this film’s central ethos.
Each actor embodies their roles to great effect, creating a full and lively ensemble, but the leading performance by Amir Jadidi is tuned to perfection to manifest a deeply elusive yet wholly relatable character. The audience is never given insight into Rahim’s true motivations regarding the money and his ensuing fame, yet his world-weary exhaustion and insecurity are more than evident through the way Jadidi carries himself. Mohsen Tanabandeh likewise provides an arresting and layered portrayal of a similarly ambiguous character: Bahram, the creditor responsible for putting Rahim in prison. He exudes a comparable bereavement to Jadidi while maintaining a cold and stoic composure. As well, each child actor was highly convincing and considerate. Saleh Karimai particularly excelled in his role as Rahim’s stuttering son, Siavash, providing a strong beating heart at the film's centre.
Throughout the film, the intentions of almost every character are in question, leaving the audience in the same predicament as those within the story: unsure of who or what to trust. By having Rahim scatter white lies throughout his account that the audience can pick up on, Farhadi invites us to join in on the speculation surrounding the character. For instance, when retelling his story at a charity event, Rahim describes his efforts to get the gold coins evaluated at a shop. He states that the shopkeeper’s calculator broke and that his pen ran out of ink, implying that an act of God stopped him from selling the coins, telling him that he was doing wrong. The audience, however, knows that this account is not true - that the coins simply were not worth as much as he had thought - which helps to plant a seed of doubt in almost everything he says. However, Farhadi asks us again to consider whether Rahim’s lying necessitates his intentions, as we are also given mixed information about the woman who lost her bag. There is a give and take to everything presented.
By the end of A Hero, Rahim is sent back to prison following the chaos that has unfolded. The closing shot lasts for a minute-and-a-half and it juxtaposes Rahim’s current imprisonment to a man who has just been released, finally meeting his wife and boarding a bus. Here, Farhadi reminds the audience of all that Rahim could have had and what he may never be able to achieve due to his mistakes. These mistakes have defined him; first as a hero, second as a fraud. It seems almost antithetical to try to reduce this film to a label of “good” or “bad”, as it revels in the grey areas. What remains true, however, is that the strength of the film's script and performances make it one that should not be missed.
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