Radiograph of a Family

Review by Omowaleayo Wale-Olaitan

The Short:

An intensely personal documentary by Iran’s Firouzeh Khosrovani about her parents’ life and love despite their different ideologies. Using photos and reimagined conversations, she narrates the changes that take place in her family in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of 1979.

The Long:

Piecing together family history composed of old letters, footage and 140 photos from her family album, Firouzeh Khosrovani, takes us through the power struggle in a family with parents’ of opposing ideologies. She uses her parents’ experiences and ideologies to underscore a larger, political issue. In the film, her religious mother marries her father’s photograph because he was too busy, studying to become a radiographer in Geneva, to attend the wedding. She eventually moves to Geneva to be with her husband but did not quite fit in with the European culture. When she found out she was pregnant, she pressures her husband to move back to Iran. In Iran, the plot thickens when the 1979 Iranian revolution changes the progressive, secular state into a traditional religious one; and gives her traditional and strict mother upper hand. Yet at its core, this is a love story. It is a message of hope about how the marital bond can survive even strong divisions in faith, lifestyle and values.

The watch or not to watch:

Watch! In these polarizing times, a story of enduring love in spite of huge differences stirs hope and peace in the mind. This moving personal tale in pictures, videos, and audio does exactly that.