Dame sobh
| Dame sobh | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hamid Rahmanian |
| Produced by | Vahid Nikkhah-Azad, Hamid Rahmanian |
| Written by | Mehran Kashani, Hamid Rahmanian |
| Starring |
Hossein Yari, Zabi Afshar, Maryam Amirjallali, Hoda Nasseh, Atash Taghipour |
| Music by | David Bergeau |
| Cinematography | Bayram Fazli |
| Edited by | Ebrahim Saeedi |
|
Running time
|
84 min (85 min) |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | Persian |
Dame sobh (Persian: دم صبح, Dam-e Sobh, English title: Day Break) is an award-winning 2005 independent film from Iranian director Hamid Rahmanian. It depicts a man on death row whose execution is repeatedly delayed because the family of the victim does not appear for his execution (which is necessary for an execution to take place under Iranian law). Some parts of the film are filmed like a documentary (docudrama), with characters addressing the camera crew or looking into the camera, but most of the scenes, including frequent flashbacks, are filmed in the traditional style of a fictional film.
The film sets in with the written statement that "This film is based on true events"; later in the introduction of the film, it is added that it is "based on a story by Hamid Rahmanian". The cover of the DVD release by Film Movement describes the film as "based on a compilation of true stories" and adds that it was "shot inside Tehran's century-old prison".
With few exceptions (e.g., Şafak in Turkey), the film has been internationally screened under the title Day Break. In the United States, the film is not rated, but according to the cover of its DVD release is "not recommended for ages under 17 without parental permission".
Mansour Ziaee (Hossein Yari) is a prison inmate in Iran's capital Tehran, who is awaiting his execution for murder. The film outlines his previous story in brief flashbacks: He is from the small village Zir Ab (probably a fictitious village since the are not in the north of Tehran), where his family was farming sheep. Hoping for a better future, he convinced his parents and his wife to move to Tehran, but once there, faced difficulties keeping the job he had counted on. Although the crime he committed and its immediate antecedents are never directly shown, it appears that he killed someone, probably his employer, with a brick stone on a busy street in broad daylight. He is apprehended on the spot and later sentenced to death.
Under the Islamic law used in Iran, the family of the victim has the power to pardon the perpetrator's life, and they have to be present at the execution. Ziaee's execution had to be delayed twice already because the family failed to come, when the film sets in on the morning of the third date fixed for his execution. The camera follows him through the procedures before an execution can take place, but ultimately, the victim's family again does not show up, and the execution is postponed for another 40 days.
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Wikipedia