Bashu, the little stranger

D: Bahram Beizai, Iran 1986/89, 120 min.

Amidst the inferno of the Iraqi-Iranian war, a ten-year-old boy runs away from his bombarded village in Iran's Arab south. Orphaned, dirty, and at the end of his tether, he gets to know Naii, where he finds shelter, care and someone he can trust. Naii is a strong woman. Opposing tradition and the wishes of the others, she succeeds in integrating the dark-skinned boy into his new, and somewhat alien, Persian environment. A film containing excellently composed imagery and mythical elements. Originally censored, the film was not shown until 1988 – after the war was over.