The Green Wave documents the birth of a revolution in Iran.
The revolutionaries are in fighting against the government and are in pursuit
of democracy and a nation governed by its inhabitants. When a rigged election
in 2009 puts Ahmadinejad in power instead of the people's choice, Mousavi,
unprecedented violence erupts, claiming the lives of countless young voters and
demonstrators.
Ali
Samadi Ahadi has created, in The Green Wave, a documentary that properly
balances information and emotion, statistics and spectacle. The footage of
street riots is pulled from cell phones, blog posts and tweets. The film feels
like a conglomeration of mass media and it's a perfect example of the power of
a digitally connected world. Since Ahadi was unable to go into Iran himself to
film the movie, scenes described by Iranians were animated and added to the
film. These sequences, much like 2008's Waltz With Bashir, lend the documentary
a lot of visual flair and help to reinforce the idea that what's happening in
Iran isn't just a list of statistics, but a narrative, a story playing out on a
daily basis.
The
Green Wave does get bogged down a bit in the middle with extended stories
involving torture at the hands of the military, but the violence is rarely
gratuitous. There are also a couple issues with some of the voice actors, who
don't always sound convincing enough, but these are minor quibbles in an
otherwise outstanding picture. So far, The Green Wave is my highlight of the
festival and it's a powerful film about tragedy, hope and pressing on in spite
of harsh circumstances. Whether politics interest you or not, give it a shot.
You may find, like I did, that Iran's story is one worth paying close attention
to and that Ahadi is as masterful a storyteller as any.
