Two brothers, one woman, and a truck stop full of betrayal — Iranian noir before it was cool.
Reza, a young truck driver at a truck stop, falls for a girl. His brother, a teacher in the literacy corps, also becomes smitten with her. Unaware of Reza's feelings, the teacher asks his brother to propose to the girl on his behalf. Reza agrees, but a wicked and lustful man who also desires the girl pits the two brothers against each other. He sabotages the truck stop in an attempt to eliminate them. Reza thwarts the lustful man's plan, but the younger brother is killed by him. Eventually, Reza captures the killer, and the police arrest him.
Acting
Fazeli's tortured silence speaks volumes.
Direction
Tight truck stop mise-en-scène, claustrophobic tension.
Director
Mohammad Reza Fazeli
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The literacy corps (sepah-e danesh) was a real 1960s Iranian modernization program, grounding this melodrama in actual social tension between rural and educated classes.
Director Fazeli cast himself as Reza — a vanity move that actually works because his haunted face carries the whole tragic mess.
IR
