“Cutting Through Rocks” unfolds over several years in a remote corner of northwestern Iran, its sense of place illuminating and the figure at its center as down-to-earth as she is heroic. This portrait of Sara Shahverdi, the first woman elected to the council of her village, is propelled by her no-nonsense resourcefulness, whether she’s overseeing the construction of a playground or helping women to move beyond antiquated traditions.
In the dusty outpost where Shahverdi lives, the general philosophy is that, as one of the men in the local cafe puts it, “a woman should live with her husband or father.” Shahverdi, a former midwife, does neither; she’s divorced and lives alone. Defying custom and comfortable in her skin, she’s the only female motorcyclist in the region — until some of the teenagers who admire her start riding. Watching one girl’s first spin, Shahverdi is a vision of pride and delight.
The friction with her fellow council members reaches comic proportions in a push-pull over the village’s official notary stamp. But her work is serious. She uses a campaign promise to install gas lines as a way of securing property ownership rights for women, and urges schoolgirls to continue their education. She also offers safe haven to a 16-year-old who’s seeking divorce from the 30-something man she was married off to four years earlier. That girl’s interaction with a judge is an exasperating, heart-wrenching harbinger of the legal absurdity that will soon embroil Shahverdi.
Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, who directed and edited the documentary, with Eyni also serving as cinematographer, have made a film that pulses with so much hopefulness that when Shahverdi’s story takes a shocking turn, it’s a punch to the solar plexus. But Shahverdi, facing the possibility of unspeakable consequences for her unconventional ways, doesn’t cave to despair. Her steeliness and strength are magnificent, but it’s her equanimity that delivers the film’s most powerful jolt.
Cutting Through Rocks Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters.
The post ‘Cutting Through Rocks’ Review: The Only Way Out appeared first on New York Times.
