Audience Member
If you think Iran is an evil country in the eyes of the West ,then there are a lot of excellent filmakers working in that country.
Rafi Pitts has made a gripping film which is set in the run up to Irans 2008 presidentail elections.
Pitts is outstanding in the lead as Ali a nightshift worker whos life is changed forever when his wife and daughter are killed in the crossfire of a police shoot out.
Ali is faced with police indifference to his plight and he becomes bitter and enraged.
Ali is also a crack shot and it a fit of rage he shoots and kills two policeman in a violent and random act.
He becomes a fugitive and is tracked down by two cops with varying ideas on law enforcement.
The film works because it keeps your interest and the fact that Pitts is mesmorizing in the lead role.
As a director Pitts is brave enough to repeat several shots and desaturates the stroger colours in order to give us a bleak idustrial Iran which is progressing forward but is leaving Ali behind.
The film is a great piece of soicial commentary and i for one will be keeping an eye on Pitts as this film is a masterpiece.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Slow paced, economical but gripping thriller with assured photography (busy highways, foggy mountain roads, eerie forests) and sound design. Everything just works.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
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Audience Member
Moody and finely shot depiction of a man spiraling out of control in due to an unseen event in his attempt to reestablish family life.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The Hunter (Persian: Shekarchi) is drama directed by and starring Rafi Pitts. It is a movie which was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival. Before I write about the movie, few words about Rafi Pitts: he was born 1967 in Iran, and spent his childhood in Tehran, where he lived in a basement flat underneath a post-production studio. During the war between Iran and Iraq, in 1981, he fled the country and moved to Britain. There he graduated in 1991 Film and Photography and since then makes movies... mostly not Iranian though... this one is officially listed as a German/Iranian production.
The story of Ali, who was recently released from prison, and now works during the night trying to spend most time possible with his beautiful wife and young daughter, was very engaging and well developed. We find out that Ali likes to retreat to his favourite pastime of hunting in the secluded forest north of town. One day his wife and daughter went missing... Ali finds out that his wife Sara is accidentally killed in a police shoot-out with demonstrators... and he decides to make things "right".
This feature film was recommended to me by couple of RT friends and I finally managed to get a copy of it. It is well developed movie, screenplay doesn't have too many words but says a lot, and acting was superb! Especially when towards the end the three men are surrounded by trees, lost in a maze, a desolate landscape, where the boundaries between the hunter and the hunted are difficult to perceive.
But my problem is to understand: what was the point of all of the events in this movie!?
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
After reading a review from my friend TheGodfather I quickly went looking for The Hunter and it's certainly worth checking out.
The Hunter is about a young watchman named Ali Alavi who treasures every moment he spend with his family, until one night it's all taken away from him. The plot in general doesn't much dialogue being exchange, but it little dialogue helps draw you into the movie. It atmosphere felt authentic and real while every character felt like a real human being. I find the character Ali Alavi real fascinating, his desire for revenge, his view on life, and the fact he's a loner contribute to the development of Ali Alavi. I enjoyed the writing very much, it's unconventional and unlike most of the movies I see. One scene I enjoyed allot was the chase scene in the fog which was beautifully filmed and had no music playing. In every other movie music would be added to such a scene, but not in The Hunter as it feels real and there is thrills watching a scene like that. The Hunter plot might have little dialogue, but it's huge on it plot.
Rafi Pitts did an excellent job as a director. He knows how to captures certain scenes and convey emotion in it. He knows how to move the story in interesting directions and how to tell one. As an actor, he does everything as it should be done. Rafi Pitts created an interesting piece of cinema that'll be hard to imitate from it grim atmosphere in the forest to the cinematography of it amazing setting. The man is clearly talented and I hope he makes more films in the future.
The Hunter has an incredible atmosphere, fascinating protagonist, and a experience that not many films can offer. If in the mood for something original and gripping, you can't go wrong with The Hunter.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
sarfaraz a
The Hunter is an Iranian film directed, written and starred by Rafi Pitts. When I started watching it, it slowly drew me towards its robust climate, hardly few exchange of dialogues in duration of 18mints. Yes I knew it was my cup-of-tea. Rafi Pitts plays 'Ali' a night-watch and hunter, his wife and daughter have been killed in exchange of fire between police and insurgents, he has identified dead-body of his wife, but not of his daughter.
He is lonely, speechless, perplexed, political-prisoner. He kills a policeman at vintage-point exactly in same manner, his wife and daughter were killed. He is captured into woods by two policemen (one being big-mouth corrupt, the other being polite and honest), they lose their way back. This is an essential part of film, this puts them to practical test of their lives. Excellent cinematography, handful of dialogues, but too much to fill the space.
Roger Ebert says about character Ali (Rafi Pitts)
"He has an uncanny presence. With his severe, tense face beneath a dark brow, he suggests Daniel Day-Lewis"
(what else to say about this movie)!!!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
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