No. 17 Soheila (Mahmoud Ghaffari,2017)

"And the Clock Stroke Four Times"

Amir Siadat

Soheila's interest in radio seems strange and out of fashion to Masoud. According to Masoud, radio has passed its era and is something that old men like. Soheila is more offended by this taunt than she should be. Why? Does the mention of old age remind her of her age and wasted opportunities? At first glance, maybe, but with more introspection, more complicated reasons will be revealed.

It's better to analyze the issue from this long twosome sequence by focusing on the contrast between Soheila and Masoud, because apart from the age difference (one is on the threshold of middle age with a fat appearance, and the other is thirty years old and physically fresh), there are many prominent contrasts that can be seen between the two of them: while Soheila is thinking of getting married and having children, Masoud is just looking for fun; The first one is defined by "goal", "future" and "commitment", and the second one is defined by "path", "moment" and "rebellion". Both are actors in a way. Regardless of the fact that Soheila is clearly playing the "role" of Mahsa, a kind of roleplaying can also be seen in her every behavior: from the very first meeting with an old man, she is trying to hide her disappointment like a "role-player". In meetings with her former lovers, she tries to show herself satisfied and firm by "pretending" that everything is normal. Every time and in any situation that she has to talk about her singleness, she does it with laughter and mockery; She wants to make what is actually her most important concern seem unimportant, lest she be despised! Unlike her, who is not a good “actress” (and even in that marriage institute, it is quickly revealed that she is not 35 years old), Masoud knows the rules of the game pretty well. Not only he deceives Soheila, but also, he deceives the audience. He tells a lie that the police took his car with crane, so that he can accompany Soheila on the pretext of it, and he says another lie about his presence in the institute to open up the conversation. It is unlikely that an audience who has been fooled along with Soheila both times, will not admire Masoud's talent from the bottom of his heart. But why does Soheila, in spite of the pleasure she seems to get from this companionship, finally reject Masoud? Because she is losing the opportunity to have children and she needs an emergency marriage? If she had met Masoud ten years ago, would she have responded positively to his request? We’ll return to this question later.

The difference between the conditions of Masoud and Sohaila at the moment of farewell is interesting: unlike Sohaila, who looks passive, timid and cautious, Masoud looks active, bold and creative. This duality of passive/active can be considered in connection with the discussion of radio, because if listening to music (Masoud's habit) informs us of active choice and action, listening to the radio indicates passive acceptance and reception. In other words, if you can “choose” the music you want, you should “accept” the radio as it is. According to Masoud, who is the embodiment of youth, radio evokes oldness, stillness and passivity.

At the beginning of the film, during Soheila's meeting with the old man, also they talk about radio, with this difference that both of them agree on the efficiency of the radio, as the old man says: "The first mutual understanding!". But he is wrong. The first mutual understanding is that both have agreed to be "chosen" for each other. The old man comes from a time when choosing a wife, according to tradition (and in a comprehensive way), was a matter beyond the individual's control. As a result, the issue of "traditional marriage" has been resolved for him and he has no problem with it. Soheila is wandering between two eras. Although she has her roots in the old man's time, Masoud's mischievous and tempting way is not something that she can easily ignore. Soheila wanders and swings between these two era; Between the era of radio and the era of MP3.

Due to the Soheila's age, it is possible to comprehend her relationship with the era of radio much better. In the years when she was born (late 70s), radio could not be separated from Iranian daily lives and Sohaila, as a woman, has based her life on the traditional values and the dominant discourse of that time. When She goes to take care of the boys after taking the old man to the hospital, traditional values reveal themselves more than ever: the woman as a wife/mother dedicates herself to maintenance and care (the old will of patriarchy). In the restaurant scene, one can see the extract of what will happen to her and the old man if they get married: a boring life, without passion and even without verbal exchanges. Soheila does not follow this path, as if what she is looking for is something else. That's why she turns her way toward the person she knew ten years ago. This return to an old relationship should be interpreted as a kind of time travel to recover "denied youth" and could be concluded that Soheila probably ended the relationship ten years ago for the same reasons that she ignores Masoud today (being thirty as a mystery, connects Soheila’s former lover to Masoud). It can be guessed that even ten years ago, she considered marriage a valid excuse to get rid of "intercourse" and this was part of the project of constantly denying her youth and suppressing her desire. From this point of view, the last parts of the film, and rushed return to the subway to find Masoud, can be seen as a summary of an action that Soheila repeated many times throughout her life: rejecting, regretting, and finally denying. Doesn't it sound too optimistic if we believe that she would have been involved with Masoud when she was younger?

The situation is very complicated. Which one hurts Soheila the most? Losing the opportunity to become a mother? Being alone and being called "old maid" according to traditional habits? Or the suppressed needs?

All those walking together on the way to the subway station, going up and down the stairs, and traveling by train with their implicit sexual connotations, convey the awakening of a truth that seems to remain dormant in the Soheila's mind forever. This is where her overweight goes to the sidelines and becomes a side issue. Perhaps up to some part of the film, Sohaila's lack of self-confidence and the crisis in her marriage can be considered the result of her overweight, but the old lover reminds her that Sohaila has gained weight in the last ten years. So, this extra weight must be caused by something else. It is not difficult to imagine that Soheila once was attractive, but her emotional upheavals, and those rejections and regrets over time disturbed her physical fitness. And what is the result of this conflict of soul and body, but the inconsistency of outside dos and don’ts with the daily questions and real needs of Soheila? Isn’t it that this body is swollen and deformed under the pressure of a restraining belief? Soheila has learnt to live with guilt; With "Inhale and exhale". In her face, one can see the story of a generation; At least the film - without shouting out – wants to show it that way. All her peers have failed in their marriages. Everyone is separated. Maybe because they have gone through a faulty process to reach a stable bond. On the other hand, let's consider the representatives of the next generation: Sohaila's two younger friends, who are clearly more mature than her and offer her solutions. One generation is plagued by inability and postponed actions, and another generation is active and self-reliant. The lack of self-confidence can be recognized in every movement of Soheila. She is always tormented and doesn't seem to feel comfortable in any environment. This happens more than anywhere in the institute of marriage. There, Sohaila seems isolated and irrelevant to the environment ("special" nature of Sohaila is made more obvious by the contrast between Zahra Davoudnejad and the non-actor clients). Soheila believes that she does not belong to such an environment and she will not find the person she likes in this institute, but she has no other choice because time is running out and the opportunities have gone one by one. Going and returning half way, from this point become one of Soheila's frequent actions. In her opinion, this style of marriage is embarrassing. That is why she avoids revealing her real name there. Therefore, she tells Masoud that she only came there to accompany her friend. She is embarrassed because of her condition. In Soheila's silence, when Masoud ridicules her interest in radio, in addition to anger, feeling of humiliation and shame can be seen. In fact, her silence is an embarrassing acknowledgment of the taunts she has heard. Masoud reminded her that time has changed and has left her behind. Hence, in those final runs, there is also an understanding of time; She runs as fast as she can, so that maybe she will catch the “train” she has missed. With the arrival of Masoud, No. 17 Soheila moves away from the social realism and documentary-like atmosphere of Rakhshan Banietemad's films, in order to step into the more private and individual areas based on a Linklater-like situation (a change that the film makes during an efficient passage, with a youthful song - which will become clear later that it was played from Masoud's headphones) and puts a taken- for-granted but vital issue under observation. It's as if the Iranian cinema is also finding a person who had been lost for forty years. It's as if those final gasps want to break the realistic atmosphere of the film, as a solid and filmic element, bring an unheard voice to the ears of this cinema.