M. Tanabandeh and H. Seyyedi acknowledges receiving the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor and Best Film for “World War III”
This is where the film’s plausibility begins to fall apart. Why would Shakib, a day laborer with no job prospects before this opportunity came along, risk everything for a worker he barely knows? Writer-director Houman Seyedi does not answer this question nor does he give us any insight into Shakib’s mindset. In the few scenes that are supposed to establish Shakib’s close bond with Ladan, we see Ladan disclose her feelings for Shakib and her wish to have a house with him and a baby of their own. At one point, Ladan even confesses to Shakib that her allegations against Farshid – trying to drug her – were all a lie. But Shakib doesn’t feel shocked or betrayed. Instead, we see him with glimmers of hope in his eyes, looking at Shakib as a possible form of redemption.
