For a certain type of documentary, intimate access to one’s subject is a double-edged sword. Leila Amini’s debut film is a close look at her family, in particular her sister Nasreen. A mother of two, many years into an unsatisfying marriage, Nasreen finds herself wanting to return to the passion of her youth. She wants to be a professional singer. There are several complications in achieving this goal, but one stands out above all others: since Iran’s 1979 revolution, women have been forbidden to sing in public.
The filmmaker shows us the frustrations of Nasreen’s life, many of which are caused by Mohammad, her unsupportive husband. It’s not just that he doesn’t approve of Nasreen’s singing, although there is that. He goes to work early and stays late (that’s his story, at least), and shows very little tenderness or even warm regard for his wife. Although Nasreen loves her children, she cannot help feeling that she squandered her youth by capitulating to the expectations of those around her.
Leila Amini provides a sympathetic eye and ear for Nasreen’s troubles, but the film doesn’t offer much more than that. At times, Nasreen can seem petulant and self-absorbed, going so far as to lock the kids out of her bedroom and ignore them while she records a singing video for TikTok. Of course, Nasreen is entitled to the proverbial “room of one’s own,” but she often seems incapable of understanding just how typical her problems actually are. One expects that A Sisters’ Tale will provide broader insights, using Nasreen’s specific story to highlight the various restrictions and oppressions that all Iranian women face.
But because Leila is filming her sister, and is embroiled in the family crises she’s documenting, A Sisters’ Tale has trouble making that broader connection. The film actually reminds of Actress, Robert Greene’s 2014 profile of a middle-aged woman trying to realize her dream of performing. Indeed, there is something universal about Nasreen’s situation, since women are so typically expected to raise families and forgo their own aspirations. But this also means that Amini needs to find her own specific angle, and that is precisely what her film fails to do. Neither a feminist exemplar nor a family diary film, A Sisters’ Tale merely assumes our interest because it is made by someone who cares so deeply that she cannot imagine that others might not.
Published as part of Locarno Film Festival 2024 — Dispatch 1.
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