March 8, 2024
FILM: SHAYDA
DIRECTED BY: NOORA NIASARI
STARRING: ZAR AMIR EBRAHIMI, LEAH PURCELL, LUCINDA ARMSTRONG HALL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Marital separation and divorce is never an easy subject to discuss yet is very commonly depicted in films (Kramer vs. Kramer, Marriage Story, etc.) and television shows. What’s rarer though is seeing the effects of a specific couple’s broken marriage from Iran, who are now living in Australia. Shayda is the mother who has escaped from an abusive marriage with her small daughter. The new film from Noora Niasari, Shayda, set in 1995, explores this tough, tense, situation with care and realism.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi plays the title character who, after a decade of marriage, finds herself in a women’s shelter with her daughter Mona. The tipping point which led to this move is hinted at but never shown. However, we do know that physical and emotional abuse was a major issue. Her husband Hossein also wanted her to maintain a traditional Persian lifestyle with a hijab taking care of his needs. But this didn’t much interest Shayda who clearly had a free spirit waiting to fly but now finds herself fearing for her safety as well that of Mona. Together, mother and daughter have a very joyful, warm relationship. Shayda loves to let loose and feely dance. Hossein’s visitation rights though create feelings of resentment within Shayda. As is, Hossein seems to show more interest in his own career as a future doctor, his love of soccer, and the traditions he left behind in Iran than he does in Mona.
The situation is fraught with anxiety for all concerned. Niasari does a great job of illustrating the emotional effects this is having on Mona, played beautifully by young Selina Zahednia. She is able to demonstrate the conflicting feelings Mona has for her father while the character witnesses his abusive behavior.
The underlying theme of the film is captured by the song “Everybody’s Free to Feel Good” from the mid-90s. It sets up a philosophy that Shayda must accept and let herself truly enjoy, as she does on the dance floor. As much as she misses her mother and previous life in Tehran she is slowly detaching herself from it and becoming the woman she wants to be. This is a particularly powerful statement for not only the women who have been standing up to patriarchal rules in Iran but to any woman who has felt trapped by the world from which she has come. I admired that Niasari chose to begin the story after Shayda already left her husband. We’ve seen the abusive marriage stories before but what is most interesting here is the period just after that when not all has been solved, feelings linger, and final decisions about the future have not been made.
Shayda already has demonstrated that she can find safety elsewhere but now has to fight for her independence and freedom. Her story should be inspiring to all.
Shayda is currently playing in limited release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.
FILM: SHAYDA
DIRECTED BY: NOORA NIASARI
STARRING: ZAR AMIR EBRAHIMI, LEAH PURCELL, LUCINDA ARMSTRONG HALL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Marital separation and divorce is never an easy subject to discuss yet is very commonly depicted in films (Kramer vs. Kramer, Marriage Story, etc.) and television shows. What’s rarer though is seeing the effects of a specific couple’s broken marriage from Iran, who are now living in Australia. Shayda is the mother who has escaped from an abusive marriage with her small daughter. The new film from Noora Niasari, Shayda, set in 1995, explores this tough, tense, situation with care and realism.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi plays the title character who, after a decade of marriage, finds herself in a women’s shelter with her daughter Mona. The tipping point which led to this move is hinted at but never shown. However, we do know that physical and emotional abuse was a major issue. Her husband Hossein also wanted her to maintain a traditional Persian lifestyle with a hijab taking care of his needs. But this didn’t much interest Shayda who clearly had a free spirit waiting to fly but now finds herself fearing for her safety as well that of Mona. Together, mother and daughter have a very joyful, warm relationship. Shayda loves to let loose and feely dance. Hossein’s visitation rights though create feelings of resentment within Shayda. As is, Hossein seems to show more interest in his own career as a future doctor, his love of soccer, and the traditions he left behind in Iran than he does in Mona.
The situation is fraught with anxiety for all concerned. Niasari does a great job of illustrating the emotional effects this is having on Mona, played beautifully by young Selina Zahednia. She is able to demonstrate the conflicting feelings Mona has for her father while the character witnesses his abusive behavior.
The underlying theme of the film is captured by the song “Everybody’s Free to Feel Good” from the mid-90s. It sets up a philosophy that Shayda must accept and let herself truly enjoy, as she does on the dance floor. As much as she misses her mother and previous life in Tehran she is slowly detaching herself from it and becoming the woman she wants to be. This is a particularly powerful statement for not only the women who have been standing up to patriarchal rules in Iran but to any woman who has felt trapped by the world from which she has come. I admired that Niasari chose to begin the story after Shayda already left her husband. We’ve seen the abusive marriage stories before but what is most interesting here is the period just after that when not all has been solved, feelings linger, and final decisions about the future have not been made.
Shayda already has demonstrated that she can find safety elsewhere but now has to fight for her independence and freedom. Her story should be inspiring to all.
Shayda is currently playing in limited release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.