Mashhad Nights (holy spider) by Danish filmmaker of Iranian origin Ali Abbasi begins with this saying: “Every man ends up meeting what he seeks to flee. » Inspired by a news item in the holy city of Mashhad, in Iran, in 2000 and 2001, this feature film shot in Jordan tells the story of a serial killer who murdered about fifteen prostitutes. The famous “spider killer”, Saeed, a former soldier and father, claims to “do jihad against vice”. Certain scenes of murder, by strangulation, are moreover unbearable.
To counterbalance the police investigation which is stalling, a journalist from Tehran is carrying out her own investigation into the man whom the media have dubbed the “spider-killer”. She comes up against an even more conservative environment than that of the capital, where a single woman, without her husband, is immediately perceived as suspicious. She suspects the political and police circles of collusion. “He cleans them up. They’re not going to arrest him,” said the mother of one of the victims.
Mashhad Nights looks like a thriller Zodiac by David Fincher – who becomes less and less credible the further the journalistic investigation progresses – but her interest lies above all in her way of depicting the status of women in Iran. It’s a sort of pamphlet against the ultra-conservative and misogynistic society that keeps women in submission and in fear of being humiliated and abused. And as such, it is a film that unfortunately could not be more topical.
The role of the journalist earned Zar Amir Ebrahimi, an Iranian actress forced into exile in France for 15 years, the Best Actress Award at the most recent Cannes Film Festival. Mashhad Nights is Denmark’s nominee for the Oscar for Best International Film in 2023.
The film is presented in theaters in its original version with English subtitles or French subtitles.
Thriller
Holy Spider VF: Nights of Mashhad
Ali Abbasi
With Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani.
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