The couple has been married for 7 years, and has a son, Ali. Hamid is a self-absorbed intellectual who can't accept the fact that his wife no longer loves him and wants a divorce.
He is so distraught over his wife's rejection that he spends all of his time either remembering how happy he used to be or fantasizing about how life should be. He spends so much time obsessing about his wife that his job and health suffer. He constantly tries to seek comfort from his mentor, Ali, but he can't seem to find him. In a final desperate attempt to end his misery, he borrows his grandfather's rifle and attempts to kill Mahshid. Unable to kill his wife, he drives to the beach and tries to drown himself. During his suicide attempt, he has a final dream where every problem in his life is resolved; Mahshid decides to stay with him, his boss is happy with his performance at work, and he has found his mentor, Ali. When he wakes from this dream, he realizes that Ali has rescued him from drowning and nothing in his life has changed.
Artistic Cultural Background
“In 1997, Hamoun was voted the best Iranian film ever made by a survey of Iranian film critics.”(First Run Features). Before Hamoun, Iranian directors “shied away from depicting married couples due to Iran's strict censorship codes that forbid any displays of affection or even touching by non-married actors.”(Hamoun). Since the couple in this movie is estranged, the director is able to omit physical contact, thus making the movie meet the requirements of the actors.
Dariush Mehrjui used “Felliniesque dream sequences” (Hamoun) to depict Hamid's desires, dreams, and fears. Felliniesque is defined as “a unique combination of memory, dreams, fantasy, and desire…(they) are deeply personal visions of society, often portraying people at their most bizarre.” (Wikipedia). The use of this style of sequences adds a sense of depth to Hamid's emotions. The chaos of his dreams draws the viewer into the thoughts of Hamid, and allows the viewer to experience his sense of helplessness in his life.
Historical Cultural Background
The theme of Hamoun is the effect of westernization on the Iranian middle-class, and the problem of trying to balance the assimilation of the western culture while still following Iranian cultural and religious customs.
Hamoun “looks at a class facing an identity crisis a decade after the 1979 Revolution.”(Hamoun). Hamid's lawyer tells him “you were deceived by the upper class. You sold yourself, your honor, your soul.”(Hamoun). Hamid focuses on providing a big house for his family and money for Mahshid to pursue her interests instead of spending time with Mahshid and Ali. He seems to still follow Muslim law by using physical violence to “correct” his wife's rebellion, but Mahshid has embraced her westernized lifestyle and sees Hamid as a stifling, unloving influence from which she must escape.
“By the end of 1982, the country experienced a reaction against the numerous executions and a widespread feeling of insecurity... The government saw that insecurity was also undermining economic confidence and exacerbating economic difficulties.” (Iran Chamber). The middle class was insecure in light of Khomeini's violence against all people who embraced western influences. Like Hamid, they were caught between becoming successful and more materialistic, and being persecuted, or staying true to their culture as defined by Khomeini and his followers.
Class
As in Unit 7's story, “Zaabalawi”, Hamid's mentor, Ali, is also elusive throughout the movie, and only appears at the end to save Hamid. Ali is seen throughout the movie only in Hamid's dream memory sequences; except for the one time Hamid thinks he sees Ali in a car beside him. Hamid recklessly follows the car, only to lose it when he speeds through a stop sign and crashes into another car.
Hamid remembers being trained by his mother to follow Islam traditions, and he takes Mahshid to the shrine during one of their dates. I learned about the Islam religion in Unit 8, which helps me understand Hamid's actions and prayers. In Islam, Abraham is upheld as the symbol of ultimate belief because of his willingness to sacrifice his only son. Hamid tells Mahshid's mother about his quest to understand Abraham's faith and love, and tells her “one has to be like Abraham, willing to destroy one's beloved in order to regain her.”(Hamoun).
Guests
My friends Carly and Nikki watched the movie with me. Carly was surprised at the size of the house the Hamouns lived in- she didn't realize how affluent Iran had become. She commented that their house was bigger than hers! She also remarked at how Hamid only seemed to have an intellectual interest in faith/tradition because he just wanted to study it and understand it, but his actions went against his faith and tradition. She thought his suicide attempt was due to the fact that he realized that he couldn't be like Abraham in the Bible or his mentor, Ali, until he could be at peace with himself- something he probably thought was impossible.
