The Witness (Shahed, 2024) ‘Venice’ Movie Review: Maryam Boubani is captivating in this scathing and complex look at modern-day Iran

Nader Saeivar’s “The Witness (Shahed),” or for that matter, any film from Iran that has come out in the past couple of years, has been incredibly critical of the systemic oppression that people face on a daily basis. In other words, it’s not possible to make a film without it being knee-deep in socio-political subtext, with stories often leading to a point where hope feels like a distant possibility.

Take co-writer Jafar Panhai’s 2022 film, “No Bears,” for example. The writer/director’s resilience to keep making movies despite facing government bans has been a testament to all modern filmmakers in the country, including Saeivar himself. However, the anger and isolation he must have faced all these years have slowly crept in. The unforgettable and unforgiving finale of his latest film and the desperation to find justice in Saeivar’s film make it feel like they are cut out of the same cloth. But this is where the ending of “The Witness” leaves you stunned because when the dust washes over you, a gush of wind will leave you dangling for freedom, wishing that fiction could soon turn to reality.

The film, which is a scathing and complex look at modern-day Iran, follows Tarlan (Maryam Boubani), a retired dance teacher who unknowingly becomes the witness to a murder so personal that she is ready to put everything on the line to get justice. However, she isn’t the kind of person who would put everything on the line just when it is personal. Being the union leader of a group that is fighting the big fight of getting the government to cave in and release the teachers they have unreasonably put behind bars is only one of her projects. Her life also oscillates between trying to find the money to pay the debt collectors who put her son behind bars while also trying her best to get him out before the cut-throat environment of the jail kills him.

However, most of her time is spent with the girls who she holds dear despite them not being related to her by blood. Zara and her daughter are like her own, and when Tarlan realizes that Zara’s husband is abusing her, she tries to intervene in vain. But not after the worst of worst happens, and Tarlan is forced again to face the harsh truth of living in a society that is ruled by a regime that writes its own repressive rules as it moves along. More importantly, the film allows us to become witness to how desperate and isolating the idea of justice can be when you are not allowed to voice your truths as your social standing is slowly closing up on you.

In a way, Nader Saeivar uses the mice-infested house of Tarlan to insinuate the manipulative and brainwashed nature of the apolitical bystanders in a society ruled by men. In one of my favorite scenes, we witness a woman forcing her mugged-up idealogy of wearing a burkha to a modern-day woman. You would think that the oppression only comes from the vile minds of men in power, but it is heartbreaking to see just how blinding these orthodox dogma rules have made everyone after seeping through generations.

Maryam Boubani’s performance is so captivating that you do not miss a single complex beat that the director throws her way. Her desperation and frustration at not being able to find the right footing and people to help her reveal the truth are shown with such dedication that you feel that no one else would have taken the role and done justice to it as she does. However, you can also see her quietly braving all the bullying and threats to seek out what she believes in. This shows not only the resilient nature of this woman alone but also all the courageous women that Saeivar’s film pays homage to. After all, justice not served is not equal to justice denied because at least one person cared to be brave enough to question it.