“Shab, Dakheli, Divar” (Beyond the Wall) Photocall – 79th Venice International Film Festival

A furious knocking on the door – and there’s more knocking in this film than in the Porter scene in Macbeth – announces that the hunt is afoot for a young woman on the run from the authorities. It turns out – in a nifty bit of flashback, essentially the narrative being folded back on itself – that the woman, Leila (Diana Habibi), is already sheltering in Ali’s flat. Leila is terrified because she has lost track of her young son, but what crime exactly is she accused of? What are the mysterious letters that Ali keeps receiving? And why is a scowling police inspector (Saeed Dakh) so interested in them? And why does there appear to be a CCTV surveillance camera planted directly above Ali’s doormat?

September 8, 2022 | 6:38 pm