‘The Lost Strait’, strolling around death

The countries that have been engaged in war during their history, have always tried to dedicate a part of their cinema to narrating the tragic days.

The multiple award-winning Iranian 2018 production ‘The Lost Strait’ is one of the successful films on the Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Bahram Tavakoli’s film is considered as a completely new experience in the world of sacred defense cinema.

‘The Lost Strait’ was an award-winning war epic depicting the story of a group of Iranian soldiers in the final days of the war.

When a group of Iranian soldiers is preparing for their long-awaited return back home, a surprise attack on a strategic border area forces them to make a tough decision as to whether they should continue heading home to their families or return to the battlefield to get the job done.

Tavakoli has made name as an auteur in the world of cinema, making various films that had completely new points of view, mixing dream and reality.

‘A walk in the Fog’, ‘Here, Without Me’ and ‘I Am Diego Maradona’ are some of his most remembered works.

In ‘The Lost Strait’, Tavakoli has tried to make the younger generation of Iran, familiar with the realities of the war.

He insists on showing the imposed war as a ‘defense’, taking his audience to the nearest view of the war.

The cinematography and selecting viewpoints in shooting, is in the highest quality, while the brilliant act of the stars has covered a few weaknesses of the screenplay.

Long sequences that picture the stress and pressure of the war are among the strengths of the film.

Taking advantage of the best facilities and advances in the visual-technical issues of our cinema over the years, the film has made every effort to provide the best reconstruction of the battle scenes and to instill the closest feeling to the viewer, in which it has been successful.

However, the weakness in characterization in ‘The Lost Strait’ has led to criticisms from cinemagoers and critics.

The film only has a single storyline which focuses on the battle of a few main characters from the beginning to the end.

Starring Amir Jadidi, Javad Ezzati, and Mehdi Pakdel, the flick earned numerous awards and nominations at various film festivals including the Fajr Film Festival as well as the Resistance Film Festival.

In addition to the Best Actor award for Amir Jadidi’s performance at the 36th Fajr Film Festival, ‘The Lost Strait’ also received Best Film, Best Director, Best Makeup, and Best Special Effects awards.

FM/FM