Captive, Waiting

The film starts with the voice of a man who has already been imprisoned for nineteen years and is expecting to be released soon. He reads a letter to his child. He doesn't know whether it is his son or his daughter, because his wife was seven months pregnant when the Iranians captured him during the Iraqi-Iranian war. He is merely a soldier, waiting all these years to be exchanged at the border with Iranian prisoners of war. In the first chapter of the film, there are no images, only the voice explaining the despair of one who does not know his destiny. Later images show everyday life in the prison. We see one hundred beds in a room, men washing their clothes, cleaning and walking. The day of release is approaching. The central figure is chosen and goes to the border to be exchanged. But the Iraqis fail to bring Iranian prisoners of war, so they are sent back. For another month or maybe a year? He writes the next letter to his child. One letter each year. This disturbing documentary starts with hope but ends in despair. The sequences of the prisoners travelling back are played backwards. Life is again at the same spot – in prison. Time is the biggest enemy; it does not pass fast enough. The director of this powerful documentary is an actor who played in films by Makhmalbaf, Jalili and Meshkini. This is his first work as a director, scriptwriter, cameraman and producer. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)