Heshmat, an exemplary husband and father, gets up very early every day. Where does he go? Pouya cannot imagine killing another man, yet he is told he must do so. Javad doesn’t know that proposing to his beloved won’t be the only surprise on her birthday. Bahram is a physician but is unable to practice medicine. He has decided to explain to his visiting niece the reason for his life as an outcast. The four stories that comprise There Is No Evil offer variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty, asking to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats. In the context of structural oppression, choice seems to be limited to either resisting or surviving.

Fiction

Iran, Germany, Czech Republic

2020

Persian, German with English and Arabic subtitles.

150 min

16+

Director: Mohammad Rasoulof

Producers: Mohammad Rasoulof, Kaven Farnam, Farzad Pak.

Cast: Ehsan Mirhosseini, Shaghayegh Shourian, Kaveh Ahangar, Alireza Zareparast, Salar Khamseh, Darya Moghbeli, Mahtab Servati, Mohammad Valizadegan, Mohammad Seddighimehr, Jila Shahi, Baran Rasoulof.

Screenwriter: Mohammad Rasoulof

Cinematography: Ashkan Ashkani

Editing: Mohammadreza Muini, Meysam Muini.