Fireworks Wednesday

Tehran, the last Wednesday before the Persian New Year, when the city fills with bonfires and firecrackers. Rouhi, a young woman from the provinces who is about to get married, takes a day job cleaning an apartment in the city. She arrives full of excitement and finds a household on the edge. The wife, Mojdeh, is convinced her husband Morteza is having an affair with Simin, the divorced neighbour who runs a beauty salon. Rouhi is quickly drawn into their fight, carrying messages, overhearing lies, and seeing her own idea of marriage start to crack.

Asghar Farhadi made this before About Elly and A Separation, and all of his art is already here. The story is told from the point of view of an outsider who only understands part of what she sees, and so do we. Every character has their own version of the truth, and the film reveals information slowly, like a thriller. Hedieh Tehrani as the jealous wife is intense and vulnerable, and Taraneh Alidoosti as Rouhi is wonderful, curious and innocent.

It is a film about jealousy, class and the small lies that hold marriages together, set against a festival of fire that mirrors the explosions inside the apartment. Less known than his later films, but just as good. If you love A Separation, this is where it started.