For the Iranian people, every day is a clash with the regime born in 1979: news stories abound and Iranians are continually harassed, imprisoned, tried, tortured and killed in an arbitrary manner, without guarantees or rights, by the Supreme Leader who everything controls and decides. In this criminal pyramid of power, women occupy the lowest rung and have to fight harder to move forward and live. This fight is tough, with no holds barred, as is the life of Leila Hosseini (Arienne Mandi), a fighter who has come to Tbilisi (Georgia) for the women’s world judo tournament. Young Leila goes to the championship together with coach Maryam Ghanbari (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), and the entire national team, representing the Islamic Republic of Iran. Leila is strong, determined, an irrepressible fighting machine capable of beating any opponent, but during the match a warning comes from the Iranian judo federation: the girl must abandon the competition, because the Supreme Leader of Iran does not want her to fight with an Israeli athlete. Leila is torn by anger: she wants to fight to win, to demonstrate her worth, for the gold medal, for her family and for Iran, but the Iranian police threaten (verbally and physically) her and her family members to withdrawals. In addition to Leila, the coach Maryam also suffers the same pressures: the two women will thus find themselves carrying on both the fights on the tatami (the mattress that occupies the judo ring) and those for their freedom.
Tatami is centered on this dramatic story, and is directed by the Israeli director Guy Nattiv and the Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, known for having acted in Holy Spiderby Ali Abbasi, won the “Female Interpretation Prize” at the Cannes Film Festival 2022. Tatami was presented in the “Orizzonti” section at the 80th edition of the Venice International Film Festival 2023, and is a film where the fight in the ring is the representation of the protagonists’ daily struggle against the liberticidal regime: a harsh continuous test of strength , where the opponent, the Ayatollah’s regime, is constantly ready to strangle the life of every one of its subjects. Leila fights, knocks down her opponents, and the director follows each match with dynamism and effectiveness: every move on the tatami is a punch that Leila gives to the Supreme Leader, every judo hold is a slap towards that government which would instead like to see her submissive, meek and ready to lose its honor to obey the widespread Iranian control system. Leila clashes with Maryam, but both are victims of the regime: they fight, but don’t know what to do, move forward in the race or give in to threats? The Supreme Guide does not accept compromises, he knows no nuances, he only sees black and white, just as black and white are the colors chosen for the film; furthermore, the 4:3 format gives a sense of suffocation to the viewer, to try to make the public breathe the little air that the protagonists breathe due to their wicked government. Blow after blow, Leila and Maryam try to escape from the ayatollah’s cage and get rid of the now suffocating hijab: Tatamithrough a well-written story and a direction that knows how to keep pace, is a successful fusion of cinematographic technique and political message, a frank and effective work of denunciation.
Silvio Gobbi
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2024-04-22 19:43:29
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