{"id":10995,"date":"2015-03-08T21:46:52","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T01:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=10995"},"modified":"2015-03-08T21:46:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-09T01:46:52","slug":"film-mohammad-and-the-matchmaker-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=10995","title":{"rendered":"Film: Mohammad and the Matchmaker (2004)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"MohammadAndTheMatchmaker_snapshot\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>:\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Label:<\/strong>\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Documentary \/ BBC<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The doctor of a recovering heroine addict helps his HIV-positive patient find love in urban Tehran.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0n\/a\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this episode of the half-hour BBC series World Weddings<\/b>, director Maziar Bahari fulfills the network\u2019s mandate of crafting a lighthearted piece on marriage \u2013 in this case, an HIV-positive former drug user searching for a wife \u2013 and illuminates more everyday aspects of a culture rarely seen in western media.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a quirkiness to the doc\u2019s tone, mostly from snappy montages and use of music, but the story of a 47 year old man searching for companionship in Tehran is highly illuminating, especially in the realm of social customs and mores, and the role of religion in matchmaking.<\/p>\n

Mohammad\u2019s essentially a survivor of opium and heroine addiction, and according to Bahari, part of a generation of former youths who switched to hard drugs when the 1979 Revolution expunged western-styled hangouts and left few venues of amusement. The doc asserts heroine addiction remains a major issue, yet Mohammad has been clean for 3 years, and with the aide of his doctor (and now friend and matchmaker), he\u2019s determined to find a wife, and start a new life.<\/p>\n

Bahari follows Mohammad on his first date with a similar HIV positive woman, and he peppers the narrative with interviews featuring his extensive support network \u2013 friends, colleagues, and mother \u2013 but it\u2019s the doc’s finale that\u2019s the most fascinating: in love, and quite happy, Mohammad and his fianc\u00e9e acquire a Shia temporary marriage certificate, which allows the couple to live together for six months. If things click, they can formalize their union with a marriage certificate, and if it breaks apart before the deadline, the temporary groom is obliged to pay a sum pre-determined by the temporary bride.<\/p>\n

Maziar Bahari\u2019s recent directorial work is the documentary\u00a0To Light a Candle<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2014), and some of his prior work is available online, including\u00a0Mohammad and the Matchmaker<\/strong>\u00a0(2004) and\u00a0And Along Came a Spider<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(2003) on YouTube; and\u00a0Reporters in Iraq<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2005), \u00a0An Iranian Odyssey: Mossadegh, Oil and the 1953 Coup<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2010), and\u00a0From Cyrus to Ahmadinejad: The Not So Secret Iran-Israel War<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2012) on Vimeo.<\/p>\n

His 2009 incarceration in an Iranian jail was recently dramatized by Jon Stewart in the film\u00a0Rosewater<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(2014).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2015 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB<\/a> \u00a0— \u00a0YouTube Links: Parts One<\/a> \/ Two<\/a> \/ Three<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this episode of the half-hour BBC series World Weddings, director Maziar Bahari fulfills the network\u2019s mandate of crafting a lighthearted piece on marriage \u2013 in this case, an HIV positive former drug user searching for a wife \u2013 and illuminates more everyday aspects of a culture rarely seen in western media…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[502,3309,3485,3487,3486],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-2Rl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10995"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11035,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10995\/revisions\/11035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}