Tatami is not a “sports” film, nor are Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby and Foxcatcher: An American Story. They are tales of a people, of an era, of the conflict between the superiority of blood ties or friendship, rendered through superhuman physical effort.
Leila (Arienne Mandi) is energetic, her head in harmony with her trained body, her concentration high: she can win the judo world championships in which she is participating. Her coach Maryam (Zar Amir) is on her side, encourages her, suggests strategies and techniques, but she looks at her suspiciously when she spends time with an athlete from another nation. He hears them inform each other about their lives: Leila replies that her son is well and feels sorry for her when her other girl tells her that her romantic relationship is over. «You will find the right person» Leila encourages her, as if she too could participate in a freedom to choose that in her country, Iran, is forbidden to women. She says it raising her voice, almost as a wish for all her compatriots forced to hide their hair under a veil everywhere, even during competitions, where Leila wears a balaclava that frames her face, leaving a small circle.
The coach is grim during that exchange and the viewer wonders if she fears an excess of familiarity or a decline in aggressiveness that could prevent her from reaching the podium. But what worries Maryam is the jacket worn by the other athlete, that of Israel, Iran’s greatest enemy. Maryam stays put, she thinks about the competition and on the tatami she knows how to give her the right advice. She was also a very noble athlete and is proud of her pupil, she has never seen her in such good shape. Ultimately, it is as if the victories that Leila continues to amass are hers, getting ever closer to the gold, which she, Maryam, was also expected to win a few years earlier if she hadn’t gotten injured. They are a mirror of each other and when a phone call comes from the Federation requiring both of them to stop, because there is a strong possibility that they will have to fight with the Israeli enemy, he transgresses by accompanying the unaware Leila in front of the doors that open wide to welcome the judokas. on the carpet. They are waiting tensely for them to call “Iran” to push the envelope and fight for their people. But while Leila struggles, Maryam is bombarded with phone calls: “Traitor!” they shout at her and order her to retreat by faking an injury, otherwise she, Leila and their families will suffer serious consequences. It is no longer the National Federation that asks for it, but the Supreme Leader.
Tatami is inspired by true stories: that of Sadaf Khadem, the Iranian boxer who took refuge in France after the arrest warrant issued against the athlete for having played the match in shorts and a tank top. Or that of the climber Elnaz Rekabi, world champion, who competed bareheaded in Seoul as a sign of joining the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Once she returned to Iran, there was no further news of her. Or that of Kimia Alizadeh, Iranian taekwondoka, bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, flag-bearer for Iran at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing in 2014. In 2020 she announced on social networks that she had left Iran due to oppression that your country exerts on women. Today you compete in the “refugee Olympic athletes” category.
Tatami is the first feature film co-directed by an Iranian director, Zar Amir – already best actress at Cannes in 2022 for Holy Spider and, in Tatami, also in the role of the coach – and an Israeli director, Guy Nattiv, Oscar winner in 2019 for the short film Skin.
With a strong black and white, which restores clear, often dark depths, the two directors focus heavily on close-ups, investigating the terrible crossroads between giving up one’s dreams and the instinct to preserve the health of family members. The actresses convey the atmosphere with mastery, demonstrating that they know well the tyranny that continues to kill women and men fighting against female apartheid and authoritarianism. Artists and opponents who pay for freedom of expression with the withdrawal of their passports, incarcerations (Jafar Panahi, Saeed Roustayi, Mohammad Rasoulof, just to name directors), exiles and, in the worst cases, with their lives.
It is a very tense psychological and political thriller Tatami, but also a brilliant sports film with long shots that show the moves and technical ability. Even if the categorizations are only useful for us to bring order: Tatami has already bypassed them. As well as sport in its desire to overcome limits and death.
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2024-04-11 09:46:44
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