Dreadfully Boring

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The Man in the Tea House: "If you want to arrest a thief, you'll have to arrest the world."The movie starts in a jewelry store where a man with a helmet is pointing a gun at an older man asking him where the jewels are. After somewhat of a fight, the older man manages to shut the grid on the burglar who shoots him in retaliation while bystanders look from the outside. We are then introduced to Hussein, a tall man of few words, and his colleague, Ali. Ali has just robbed a purse and discovers that there is a receipt for a jewel in the purse. Ali and Hussein work together as pizza delivery persons. The movie will follow the events that lead up to the burglary, encounters that Hussein make, his plans of marriage with Ali's sister and the constant affirmation of his social status.Crimson Gold is a very dark movie, both in substance as in colors. Most of the scenes happen at night when Hussein rides his scooter through town and only a few scenes take place during the day. If I had to describe what the film is in the fewest words possible I would have to say that it is a social critique. We see Hussein poor and we are constantly reminded of it. We see his colleagues who aim for material desires while living on their low payrolls. We also encounter rich customers that Hussein meets but they are depressed or repressed by the police. There is a saying that one can't buy happiness and this might be the lesson we, and everyone in the film, learns through this journey.Hussein is a very complex character with often very erratic behaviors and never many words of explanations. I wouldn't have guessed and I don't know if it is meant to be understood that the character is a paranoid schizophrenic, but the trivia on IMDb state the actor actually is. He seems indifferent to pretty much every situation except in few occasions when he might get really upset because a man reminds him of his social status of "poor", but he can also prove to have a heart of gold when, stuck and stranded in a street because of a police operation, he offers pizzas to everyone present. These scenes shone the most, as unfortunately, I think a lot of the other scenes were unfulfilling simply because of his lack of attention to his surroundings or to his interlocutors. He offers no judgement, denotes no pleasure or displeasure in anything.As common with Jafar Panahi's movies, the surroundings are very bare and there is hardly any music. Most of the scenes are genuinely filmed in the streets and most of the beauty or ugliness relies on the mere city, a landscape or a simple interaction.I found the overall message of the movie to be somewhat misleading like the horizons of Hussein suddenly turned black because he saw rich people are not necessarily more happy than he is. I liked dark movies and there is never a single reason to commit a crime, but given the tools the movie offered us, we are left wondering what is going on in Hussein's head and why does he do such things.I liked: A clash of sorts. Characters struggles.I disliked: Uncanny. One way. Everyone in their own bubble.62/100 A slow unfolding of what we know will happen. A very dark and mysterious tale.Read more reviews at: www.theordinaryreview.blogspot.com

"Crimson Gold" is one of those rare films made in recent times which does not feature themes and characters which have become hallmark of Iranian cinema.We have seen films about angelic children and lonely, frustrated women and housewives.At this juncture,we are talking of an Iranian cinema which is honored at film festivals all over the world but is banned at home by cultural authorities as Iranian audiences feel that their films have failed to depict a truthful portrayal of their country.This is also the case of this film as it was banned in Iran after winning critical acclaim outside of Iran.In the past,Jafar Panahi used to make innocuous films about innocent kids and harassed women.As he wanted to do something different,something original,he decided to film an actual event involving a heist which took place in Teheran.In the making of "Crimson Gold",Abbas Kiarostami has helped Jafar Panahi to direct a unique film in the history of Iranian cinema.It is one of those rare films that has an urban feel.One can see cars,motorbikes and well lit roads.As in many Iranian films of recent times young protagonists have been shown as highly critical of moral policing prevalent in Iran.It is true that the suicide of the main character remains a crucial plot of the film.It is for viewers to ascertain the reasons which induced him to take such an extreme step. Crimson Gold is a film which conveys that it is not poverty but desperation,frustration,hopelessness which induce people to commit crime and suicide.

This is just another Iranian movie...It's like what I read about Florence in the Lonely Planet guidebook..that it astonishes you, and then slowly you come to terms with it and its beauty and you take it for granted that everything in Florence is grand and excellent. The same could be said for many of the Iranian movies, made by giants such as Kiorastami, Makhmalbaf and Panahi. This is just another of those movies...movies that cannot go wrong! The story is interesting, acting is natural and the dialogue is, to a large extent, minimum.What I like most about Iranian movies is that they are never preachy and they do not make fuss about anything, but simply, subtly drive their point(s) home....just like how we act in real life.People who did not like this movie, should watch the Arnold or Chuck Norris movies during the weekends in Fox 11 TV channel.

It is regrettable that some comments have described the movie as boring and tedious. In the west, we have been raised with a version of cinema presented by Hollywood that provides quick indulgence and satisfaction; well not only cinema, a lot others as well. Movies that lack this characteristic, being ironically closer to reality and providing an insight into the world we live in, are judged as "weak," and "boring." Allegorical cinema is the strongest cinema no question, and Iranian cinema has been an efflux of such examples during the past decade; "Crimson Gold" is a perfect example.It might come out as strange, but for a change, a movie has been able to capture the real life, the real social struggles of the society; and this doesn't just pertain to the Iranian society, but the description is one of ecumenical. The pace matches the pace of real life, as one other commentator put it so eloquently, it SHOULD be slow, and it SHOULD be agonizing to watch it, simply because that's what the movie is trying to portray, and that's how real life is experienced. The slow pace of the movie, following every move of the main character, makes the movie even more poignant. One can put self in Hussain's shoes, and feel the pain and humiliation he feels when he walks into the Jewlery store, case in point.