 |
| Chloe MacLeod as RACHEL, Rose Dehgan as YASAMIN in FOREIGNER |
FOREIGNER, directed by Ava Maria Safai [English/Persian language]
Horror has long been a genre vehicle that directors use to spin stories that can double as social commentary about current events. The continued spotlight on immigrations policies creates an ideal moment for films to appear about the nonnative experience. In FOREIGNER, director and screenwriter Ava Maria Safai makes the brilliant choice to use the recognizable trope of mean girls in teen storytelling to build a disturbing tale about the dangers of acculturation for the sake of being liked.Yasamin (Rose Dehgan) has just moved from Iran to Canada and desperately wants to fit in. She spends her days watching re-runs of sitcoms and studying fashion magazines, hoping to better match her classmates. Her actions first read as cute, funny, and relatable before that first day begins. But from the moment Yasamin meets her peers, our enthusiasm for her careful research dims.
At school, she meets Queen Bee Rachel (Chloe MacLeod) and her groupies, Kristin (Talisa Mae Stewart) and Emily (Victoria Wardell). Together the three of them manage to exhibit vibes that read like a blend of the twins from THE SHINING and the cursed characters of the SMILE films. Dressed in matching outfits and donning frozen smiles that belie their bullying, Rachel, Kristin, and Emily set their sights on converting Yasamin to their image. As Yasamin starts to submit to their wishes, she risks losing her connection to her family and her past, continuing a curse that has been with her family for generations.
The tropes that appear normal in movies starring white teen girls take on a disturbing edge when it comes to Yasamin. She studies sitcoms and these magazines, not because that's what she likes, but because she thinks it's what she's supposed to like. She goes shopping with grandma to find a particular bubblegum pink t-shirt. Every choice Yasamin makes feels like that of a person sinking further into a cult, especially as we discover that her mom took a similar path.
 |
| Chloe MacLeod as RACHEL, Rose Dehgan as YASAMIN in FOREGINER |
Safai makes clever use of the camera to create a psychologically uncomfortable feeling for the viewer. Yasamin studies a sitcom over and over. When she's watching the program, the view alternates between the program, the notes Yasamin is taking, and close-up parts of her face. The editors slice these cuts in quick succession, causing us to feel Yasamin's concentration and discomfort. In other moments, Safai utilizes a shallow focus technique to demonstrate Yasamin's feelings of isolation or being out of step with others. She is in focus while the world is blurred around her.
Safai loosely bases what happens to Yasamin on the mythological figure of the Zar, a demon that comes in like a wind and possesses a body, making the owner sad, depressed, or sick. Using the image of a spirit that comes in and makes the body ill makes total sense as an allegory for how acculturation splits the soul in two. In order to gain acceptance from her peers, Yasamin feels like she has to reject her own identity. She tries to push away her family and anything Iranian but in doing so, Yasamin must reject herself and turn against her own body.
Safai's story, with a sound design, special effects, score, and cast that work in conjunction grants an undiluted look at the horrors of trying to find home in a place that thinks of you as "foreigner."
Screening in its World Premier during Fantasia Film Fest 2025 in the Septentrion Shadows section. See film details page for more information.
Release info: The film has been picked up by Raven Banner Films ahead of its world premiere.
Final score: 3.5 out of 5
 |
| A still from JULIET & THE KING |
JULIET & THE KING, directed by Ashkan Rahgozar [Persian language]
This second film also deals with a cultural collision between European Western and Iranian cultures but this time told through the genre of animated musical. JULIET & THE KING celebrates the communal joys of theater and friendship across cultures. This second feature-length film by Ashkan Rahgozar follows up his 2016 historical epic fantasy, THE LAST FICTION.Playwright Jamal, an Iranian expat, and Juliet, his thespian muse, carry big dreams of seeing their talents recognized in the theater halls of Paris, but every opportunity is thwarted by Juliet's ability to commune with the dead. Every time she performs, the ghost of a literary giant visits to admire her work and causes Juliet to faint. Opportunity knocks when the Shah of Iran visits Paris and takes a liking to Juliet. Without haste, he commands Juliet and Jamal to bring European theater to Iran for the first time. Jealous for the shah's attention, his mother and the wives in his harem set their sights on sabotaging the performance.
 |
| A still from JULIET & THE KING |
The parallels between this story and MOULIN ROUGE abound, but there's no evil duke. Juliet and Jamal both love the theater and live for the moments when audiences gather for a performance. Jamal also cares very deeply for Juliet but feels unworthy to be her suitor. For her part, Juliet longs for her big shot and to be discovered. And Jamal questions if he as a playwright has the talent to meddle with the master's work in order to make it more culturally acceptable. There are ups and downs to getting things off the ground, but the show must go on.
Although loosely based on fact, written text announces this story from the get-go as comical rather than historically accurate. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar was indeed the first shah to visit Europe in 1873 and held a strong interest in the arts, but that's where the history lesson seems to end. But with Iranian filmmaker Rahgozar behind the magic, viewers can rest assured that this film avoids harmful stereotypes that often occur when Western directors depict Eastern cultures.
Rahgozar and team employ an animation style that fuses Eastern and Western aesthetics. Just like the characters that come together during its runtime, the animation is a loving homage to both. The film is a sumptuous feast of colors, shapes, and lines. The opening title credits occur while the camera zooms in on a digital rendering of a Persian miniature painting. A jaunty tune plays as the camera travels across these Iranian architectural motifs, showing how a letter travels across the continents. When the letter arrives in Paris, the drawing changes from pixels and cubes to rounded shapes.
 |
| A still from JULIET & THE KING |
In specific parts of the story, the animation style switches. In one scene, Juliet relays the tale of Rome & Juliet to the Iranian court. Her narration pairs with a 2D style emulating a paper collage. Since this vaudeville style is used in European animation, it's a brilliant accompaniment to an introduction to Shakespeare.
There is much to enjoy with the songs. Like all good musicals, the tunes track the emotional journey of the tale. Some are performed for comedic impact, like the song the shah's mother sings to manipulate her son into cancelling the play. Others portray the commitment of the cast to finish the play despite all obstacles, like when Juliet reconstructs a stage after someone tried to burn it down.
JULIET & THE KING celebrates the theatrical experience and shows how the arts can be a powerful bridge that unites cultures.
Screening in its International Premiere during Fantasia Film Fest 2025 in the My First Fantasia section. See film details page for more information.
Final score: 3.5 out of 5
Comments