12 Days of Waiting

We meet an Iranian couple in a desperate situation. Their daughter has just moved to the UK and they haven't been unable to reach her for days. Meanwhile, there are reports on TV and the radio that 15 British soldiers illegally entered Iran's territorial waters. They've been arrested and now Prime Minister Tony Blair is trying to negotiate their release. The couple decides to go on a pilgrimage. 12 Days of Waiting alternates scenes of their trip to a sacred grove, where the mother ties a coloured piece of cloth to a branch, with scenes from their home, and we are amazed at the difference. Outside, it's barren, bleak and impersonal, if only because everybody is wearing the same black headscarf. Indoors, it's spacious and light, with carpets, pillows and loosely pleated drapes everywhere. The atmosphere is intimate, but also laden with anticipation. The hand-held camerawork is often shaky, and because the filmmaker keeps zooming in and out, you can see the auto-focus at work. But perfect shots aren't what this is about. The scenes with the couple are as intimate as a home movie and imbued with melancholy. The couple's house is too big for them. It has too many pillows. 12 Days of Waiting makes us feel how political developments can dominate our private lives. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)