Iranian Casablanca

The return of Amir’s ex girlfriend, Nazli, now married to a Deutsch citizen, makes things more complicated, stirring up long withheld emotions, desires and memories. A bridge, between old and new, the past and the future, the tradition and the contemporary, values and desires, staying and leaving, keeping and letting go. A bridge to cross or just to lean on, or simply to look at… And just like Casablanca, with the famous line “Here’s looking at you kid!”, Pole Choobi, has a line of its own: “To be in love, is to feel fine.”

According to its director, Mehdi Karampour, the Wooden Bridge, Pole Choobi, was adapted from the 1942 movie, Casablanca, in an attempt to look at a love triangle, in the midst of a politically charged undertone.

But unlike Casablanca, this movie, doesn’t give a firm establishment of characters on the screen and therefore in viewers’ minds. Pole Choobi, begins with the scene of the Persian New Year, the beginning of Spring, and symbolic of new birth and new beginnings.

We see two lovebirds, Amir and Shirin, getting ready to ring in the New Year, and sharing their strong love, while discussing their future plans of leaving the country together. Unfortunately, the positive tone, doesn’t last long enough for the viewer to completely engage with the characters.

A chaotic introduction of characters and events leads to Amir’s decision to send his wife, Shirin, abroad in order for him to join her later. What follows, is a reminiscent of old feelings and unspoken doubts.


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