contraband. (netflix instant pick of the week)

No One Knows About Persian Cats (***1/2)

IFC Films

Dir: Bahman Ghobadi

Str: Negar Shaghaghi, Ashkan Koshanejad, Hamed Behdad

The need to create is fundamental. From music, to carpentry, to conversational lying, at some point, everybody feels the need to make something out of nothing. To take ideas and emotions that can't be seen, and to turn them in to something tangible. It's a rush. When someone can't get enough of this rush, we call them an artist. In many places, though not nearly enough, artists are revered and respected, or at the very least tolerated, and can share their creativity whenever and, to a certain extent, wherever they want (maybe even when they shouldn't). In Iran, on the other hand, one must have a permit. Bahman Ghobadi's film No One Knows About Persian Cats serves as a walking tour through the underground music scene of Tehran, which is full of people who have been cursed with the need to create in a place where creativity can land you in jail.

The film, which is fictional, though it does feature a cast full of real Iranian musicians playing themselves and leading what must be very close to their real lives, follows two indie rock musicians, Negar and Ashkan (collectively Take It Easy Hospital) as they attempt to fill out their lineup, get a permit to play a show, and acquire passports and visas so they can get to the UK, where they have a gig. They acquire the help of a local DVD bootlegger, Nader (Hamed Behdad, the film's only professional actor), and the three of them spend the rest of the film sneaking through hallways, shoddily soundproofed basements, and secret recording studios looking for any help they can get. Nothing comes easy for a musician in Iran. We are introduced to one band who waits all day for their neighbors to leave their apartments so they can practice for 10 minutes.

No One Knows About Persian Cats was filmed entirely in Iran and entirely without permits, not to mention that everything they were filming was also illegal, so the film has a wonderful, natural rebelliousness that you couldn't fake if you tried, and plenty of films have. The performance by Bahdad is joyously manic, and the real musicians seemed very natural on camera as well. It's not as easy to play yourself as some might believe. Ghobadi shoots the film with an interesting mixture of documentary realism, and stylish cinematography that gives the film a definite intimacy without ever reining himself in.

I did have one problem with Ghobadi's direction though and it is this, whenever a new band was introduced, and there must be at least a dozen (from heavy metal to jazz to hip hop), the director gave them each a brief sort of music video, usually quick cutting between the band and images from the streets of Iran. I suspect that Ghobadi wanted to create a sense of the world that inspired each band's music, but it doesn't really work and it only serves to pull the audience out of the narrative for a minute or two. If he wanted to give each band a time to shine, it probably would have been more effective and interesting to simply point the camera at the musicians, and let them play.

Aside from these moments, I was absolutely fascinated by No One Knows About Persian Cats. It's always an interesting experience to be pulled into a world you didn't even know existed. The film is frustrating and inspiring in equal turn. Frustrating to watch people have to work so hard for something that should come so easily, I should point out that most of the bands are really quite good, but inspiring in that, none of the musicians ever even mention quitting. It's like the though of giving up never even enters their mind.