The short film “A Move” by Elahe Esmaili uses the family unit as a microcosm of Iran as a whole, while noticeably allowing for “compromise,” marking the distinction between religion and regime. The home in this film is an extended family party, not the nuclear family of parents and siblings that western audiences, the primary consumers of the New York Times, typically view as members of the home. Therefore, the “home” becomes a sort of foreign territory for both the viewers and Esmaili herself, as these are not the people she lives with and sees on the regular- they are home in the same way Iran is home, and with that comes a certain level of oppression that you wouldn’t see in your own personal space. Her relatives are shown crying near the end as she refuses to obey, but the framing isn’t negative- they aren’t forcing her to cover her hair, but in not doing so, she is sinning in their eyes. This version of home, therefore, isn’t oppressive in the same way Iran is; her family has genuine concerns for her well-being. This point is made most explicit in the middle of the film during Esmaili’s conversation with Mr. Hossein. When asked if he is bothered by her not wearing a hat or hijab, he responds that “religion doesn’t force: if you don’t accept it, there’s no force.” (8:29). While he would prefer if she did cover her hair, there is no danger in refusing, unlike in the public sphere, where it is very possible that she would be arrested or murdered. The home, in Esmaili’s film, is therefore a safe place to protest- a resistance on a purely personal level, challenging the beliefs of civilians one at a time and starting with her family. This individual interview is the idea that framed the rest of the film. Shot from the side, slightly further from most of the other conversations, this scene felt more natural, the kind of “fly on the wall” that allows for people to share their honest thoughts without feeling intruded upon.
Image credits: “A Move,” Pulitzer Center, https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/move
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