T h e W h i t e B a l l o o n Moiz Bhinderwala I. Give a short summary of the
film in which you tell: - where and when the story takes place - who the main
characters are – protagonists and antagonists - how their lives are affected by
the culture they are in The story is set in a modern Tehran – just two hours
before the start of the traditional Persian New Year -the first day of spring,
March 21st, is New Year's Day in Iran. The whole story revolves around Raziah, a
determined seven-year-old girl who wants nothing more than a certain beautiful
goldfish to decorate her family's house for the New Year- (the first day of
spring, March 21st, is New Year's Day in Iran)
Though it's tough to convey the excitement of such a simple plot in words,
her quest for the fish is surprisingly moving. This is partly because the
adorable Raziah, who shouts all her lines, is so utterly appealing; and partly
because the market of Tehran, where she ventures out to buy the fish with her
mother's money (under strict instructions to bring back change). seems like no
place for a little girl to be wandering by herself – (underlines the fact about
restriction on women in this culture)
A sense of threat accompanies Raziah on her journey. First, some snake
charmers - a bunch of men that she has been warned not to look at, by her
parents - manage to separate the seven-year-old from her note. With the help of
her sturdy vocal chords she manages to get the money back, only to lose it
again. There's a subtle feeling that Raziah might be paddled by her parents if
she doesn't get her money back - her brother, who convinced their mother to give
his sister the money in the first place, shows up at one point with a black eye.
The adults who surround the two children can't seem to understand how dire it is
that they get their money back, but the kids themselves are quite certain of the
gravity of their task. With earnest concentration, they try a variety of
techniques to retrieve the bank note that has fallen through a grating into a
cellar.
Her search to recover the cash becomes intertwined with the lives of vendors,
merchants, an indignant tailor, a friendly soldier on leave far from home, an
Afghan refugee selling balloons and Raziah's own brother. The film takes place
in real time, heightening the sense of living inside a child's world. Though the
adults can't understand how important it is for Raziah to get her goldfish or to
retrieve her money, it becomes very clear to us that these are matters of
immense importance.
The White Balloon conveys that deep, even timeless, childhood feeling of
being thwarted at something you really want, of how something like a bowl of
goldfish can be a life-or-death matter! The movie also brings out the various
aspects of the Iranian Moslem culture in which the plot is set. The very fact
that Raziah’s parents warn her of places that girls are not supposed to go –
indicates that in this culture there are restrictions on girls with regards to
entertainment.
The scene where Raziah engages into talk with the friendly soldier, she is
shown re-arranging her dress time and again, this also points out the strict
dress code that women in this culture are supposed to stick to. II. As an
anthropologist you are trying to understand this culture based on what you have
seen in this film. - What differences are there between your culture and the
culture presented in the film? I come from India, which shares an Asian culture
with Iran. Moreover since my religion is Islam which is the same as the one of
all the characters in the movie, it is difficult to me to narrow down the
differences between my culture and the culture portrayed in the movie.
