VideoDetective.com
Hamoun (1990)
Released By: First Run Features   Rating: Not Rated   In Theaters: 1/1/1990
Your video will start shortly...



More Videos:
Preview Details
User Reviews
Studio: First Run Features
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Dariush Mehrjui
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: 1/1/1990
Home Video Release: 8/24/2004
Cast: Khosro Shakibai, Bita Farahi
Published ID: 175832
UPC: 720229911139,
Plot: No quick, easy answers are offered in this psychological Iranian drama that offers a fascinating nonjudgemental glimpse of middle-class Iranian life and the cultural crisis faced by some contemporary Middle Eastern couples torn apart by simultaneously attempting to lead more Westernized lives while still adhering to traditional customs and values. The story centers on the crisis of a middle-aged executive in a thriving import-export company, Hamid Hamoun. He dreams of becoming a writer, but cannot and therefore feels like a failure. He also teaches English part-time. Much of his turmoil comes from his internal conflict. On one hand, he feels different from his fellow Iranians, like he doesn't fit in. On the other, he has no choice but to obey the strict laws of his conservative society. He frequently, and violently, vents his frustrations upon Mashid his wife. Deeply unhappy, she tires of being bullied and tries to get a divorce. Unfortunately, Islamic law only allows divorce in certain circumstances, and since wife-abuse is pretty much accepted, she cannot. Hamoun is devastated to discover that his self-absorption has nearly cost him his neglected wife. Together, they try to reach out and rebuild their fragmented lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Wack and weird
Added 4/7/2009

This movie was crazy. Just when your starting to make sense of the movie something strange and unusual happens.And whatever you do dont eat while watching this.The writer of this film was obviously trying to make this movie different and exotic.Yet it just turned out basically all weird.If you like movies that are strange and collide with the usual this movie is for you.Finally,The subtitles are sometimes hard to see and are ungrammatical,yet you can mostly tell what the charcters are saying.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Not the Italian Movie
Added 11/29/2007

Hamoun was a disappointment for me, partly because it had been overpraised with comparisons to Fellini's 8½. Both movies indeed make use of dream or fantasy sequences and both deal with a middle aged man's intellectual and marital confusions. But for the sake of future viewers, let's be clear: Hamoun is not in the same league as 8½. Mehrjui can't match Fellini's wit and brilliant visual style, and his film lacks the same coherence. Allusions to famous directors, and references to Kierkegaard, Daoism and Robert Pirsig's motorcycle book don't supply profundity to the exercise.

I'm not saying it's an awful movie. It probably works better in Farsi, but the English subtitles of my DVD are unidiomatic and ungrammatical (I mean, at any rate, the words that are visible).

3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Psycho-fantasy!
Added 6/3/2006

This is a pretty interesting off beat flick! It chronicles the life of the protagonist, a writer by the name of Hamoun. The directorial touch of flitting between the past and the present is an interesting treatment and keeps the movie that much more enjoyable, since the contrasts are stark on the one hand & the plot crystallized on the other. As we weave through Hamoun's life, his work, his wife, her work, their relationship, the others in their lives... we slowly become completely enmeshed with the character & thats when the movie really starts to trip into phantasmagoria.

Incidentally, the movie throws a very different light on the condition of women in Iran. Some of the dialogues and situations are indeed quite forward & reflective of an open society and one where women are not necessarily completely subjugated to men. Which makes one wonder if one is over-interpreting the middle east from television images, and maybe there exists the educated elite too, where women are an integral part of society.

In any case, this is a delightful watch with friends with strong characters & an interesting storyline.

10 out of 10 people found this helpful.
Wack and weird
Added 4/7/2009

This movie was crazy. Just when your starting to make sense of the movie something strange and unusual happens.And whatever you do dont eat while watching this.The writer of this film was obviously trying to make this movie different and exotic.Yet it just turned out basically all weird.If you like movies that are strange and collide with the usual this movie is for you.Finally,The subtitles are sometimes hard to see and are ungrammatical,yet you can mostly tell what the charcters are saying.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Not the Italian Movie
Added 11/29/2007

Hamoun was a disappointment for me, partly because it had been overpraised with comparisons to Fellini's 8½. Both movies indeed make use of dream or fantasy sequences and both deal with a middle aged man's intellectual and marital confusions. But for the sake of future viewers, let's be clear: Hamoun is not in the same league as 8½. Mehrjui can't match Fellini's wit and brilliant visual style, and his film lacks the same coherence. Allusions to famous directors, and references to Kierkegaard, Daoism and Robert Pirsig's motorcycle book don't supply profundity to the exercise.

I'm not saying it's an awful movie. It probably works better in Farsi, but the English subtitles of my DVD are unidiomatic and ungrammatical (I mean, at any rate, the words that are visible).

3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Psycho-fantasy!
Added 6/3/2006

This is a pretty interesting off beat flick! It chronicles the life of the protagonist, a writer by the name of Hamoun. The directorial touch of flitting between the past and the present is an interesting treatment and keeps the movie that much more enjoyable, since the contrasts are stark on the one hand & the plot crystallized on the other. As we weave through Hamoun's life, his work, his wife, her work, their relationship, the others in their lives... we slowly become completely enmeshed with the character & thats when the movie really starts to trip into phantasmagoria.

Incidentally, the movie throws a very different light on the condition of women in Iran. Some of the dialogues and situations are indeed quite forward & reflective of an open society and one where women are not necessarily completely subjugated to men. Which makes one wonder if one is over-interpreting the middle east from television images, and maybe there exists the educated elite too, where women are an integral part of society.

In any case, this is a delightful watch with friends with strong characters & an interesting storyline.

10 out of 10 people found this helpful.
Photos


There are currently no photos.
Shopping
IDPriceImageUrlPurchaseUrlIdTypeBindingStore
DVD
$26.99 @ Amazon
DVD
$26.99 @ Amazon