A Very Ordinary Citizen

Director Majid Barzegar’s sly, slow-burning comedy/drama/romance/thriller, co-written by Iranian cinema luminary Jafar Panahi (Taxi), is shot in long takes and treats the subject of dementia in seniors in no very ordinary manner. “The title character is a solitary and taciturn old man in Tehran whose days revolve around napping and buying bread. His son, exiled to Canada, wants his father to visit, so he hires a young female travel agent to help the old man make arrangements; the father takes a shine to her, though his means of showing affection make her increasingly uncomfortable. Souren Mnatsakanian gives a wonderful, poker-faced lead performance and director Barzegar (Parviz) fashions a deadpan visual style to match ... The unexpected plot twists provide some genuine shocks” (Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader).