Another exceptional, original and rather shocking film comes to us from Iran, and Houman Seyyedi won the award for the best film in the Horizons section of the Venice festival for “The Third World War”. Seyyedi may not belong to the circle of the most famous Iranian filmmakers, and his path is quite interesting because he first started writing and directing films, only to eventually become an equally sought-after actor. In addition to Seyyedi, the main actor Mohsen Tanabandeh also received an award in Venice and it is simply amazing where these Iranians keep pulling out these fantastic actors.
Tanabandeh is Shakib, a homeless man and a wage earner who lost his family many years ago in an earthquake. For the last few years, he has been in a relationship with Ladan (Mahsa Hejazi), a deaf-mute prostitute, and one of the jobs he will get is that of building a set for a war movie. To make the situation even more bizarre, the Iranians are shooting some kind of film about World War II and concentration camps, and after the set is built, the producers will hire Shakib as an extra. When the actor who was supposed to play Adolf Hitler suffers a heart attack during filming, the producers will take Shakib for the role of Führer, and besides a much better salary, he will also be provided with accommodation in the house during the filming of the film.
When his deaf-mute girlfriend learns that Shakib now has a house at least temporarily, she will seek his help and escape from the pimp. Shakib will offer her a hiding place, but everything will very quickly turn into complete chaos and disaster. From beginning to end, everything here seems a bit bizarre and chaotic, and this is enhanced by the restless hand-held camera. The whole idea here is a bit absurd, because from the beginning there is a bizarre premise that the Iranians are shooting some kind of film about the crimes of the Nazis in World War II, which it is obvious from the plane that it will be monumental trash.
Thus, “World War III” almost starts as an absurdist black comedy, but over time it will turn into something much darker. Into a first-class thriller, a gruesome tragedy in which fate will play out so that a desperate man from the very bottom of the social ladder plays one of the worst criminals in the history of mankind. Shakib’s hope that his performance in the film could bring him something good and a step forward in his life, will quickly dissipate, and his life will slide into even worse chaos. This film is just one more proof that top films are made in Iran and that the cinematography there should be given full attention.