Head to Head    4 stars

The first film I saw at The Chicago International Film Festival this week was the Iranian made Head to Head by Iranian filmmaker Ghahsideh Golmakani. In this absurdist comedy Golmakani makes a statement about the severe restrictions placed on women in Iranian culture dictating what is acceptable clothing and behavior in public. In the movie, a woman director, Behar is directing a movie being made without government approval, where the female roles are all played by men. Like the fictional movie in the story, Head to Head was made without the knowledge of the government. (It shares this feature with last year’s It Was Just an Accident.) The male actors must always wear head scarves and are told to behave like women. They must be careful how they sit, walk and must not dance when music is being played. There is a thriving cinema industry in Iran, but it is heavily monitored by the government and must not criticize the government in any way. Behar’s cameraman is not only filming the movie but is also secretly filming the actors behind the scenes. This was Behar can capture the reactions of the men to these strange circumstances, material that she intends to be part of the film. Much of the movie takes place on the road in the desert, after government police arrive unexpectedly and Behar, her cameraman and two actors escape in a van. There, the action continues as they argue over the circumstances and one actor refuses to continue with the project after removing his clothes. We find out that Behar has a history of being in prison over past violations. Behar’s frustration over the restrictions of Iranian culture only grows even when faced with the prospect of being caught by the morality police. Ultimately, we can see that not only women, but men also must pay the price of government control in this oppressive society. Unlike the other films of the festival, the director was not allowed to enter the United States to present her film.