Observing the second day of Iranian Film Festival, an Iranian movie Crimson Gold was screened here on Thursday. The film screening was held at Bharat Bhavan.
Notably, five-day long film festival is being organised by Chhavi series of classical cinema, Bharat Bhavan. Crimson Gold is a 2003 Iranian film directed by Jafar Panahi, and written by Abbas Kiarostami.
The movie surrounds a pizza delivery boy Hussein. For Hussein, a pizza delivery driver, the imbalance of the social system is thrown in his face wherever he turns. One day when his friend, Ali, shows him the contents of a lost purse, Hussein discovers a receipt of payment and cannot believe the large sum of money someone spent to purchase an expensive necklace. He knows that his pitiful salary will never be enough to afford such luxury.
Hussein receives yet another blow when he and Ali are denied entry to an uptown jewelry store, because of their appearance. His job allows him a full view of the contrast between rich and poor. He motorbikes every evening to neighborhoods he will never live in, for a closer look at what goes on behind closed doors. But one night, Hussein tastes the luxurious life, before his deep feelings of humiliation push him over the edge.
The film was never distributed in Iranian theatres, because it was considered too ‘dark’. Therefore, it was not possible that Crimson Gold be considered as the Iranian entry for Best Foreign language Film for the 2003 Oscars. But due to few reasons it was not released in Iran.