Often times the most effective way for a film to portray drama convincingly is to not force feed manufactured sentimentally upon the viewers and instead take a minimal approach to allow audiences simmer in their own emotions. In A Few Days of Respite, Amor Hakkar directs and stars in this mood piece about two homosexual Iranian men who illegally cross the border of France to escape the death sentence that inevitably would fall upon them for their love of one another. Without overburdening viewers with preachy dialogue, Hakkar opts instead for lingering shots of expressions that manage to make the film feel visually and emotionally complete.
Hassan and Mohsen (Samir Guesmi and Armor Hakkar) make it all the way to France from Iran, close to their final destination. While stopped over in a small town to await their train to Paris, Mohsen decides it would be safer to travel separately and meets a kind elderly woman, Yolande (Marina Vladly) who offers him temporary employment, knowing full well that he doesn’t have the papers to stay in France. There is more too it than that, again only implied through glances between the characters, in the possibility that she can offer Mohsen a peaceful life while finding someone to love for herself.
The subtlety in direction is reminiscent of the work of famous Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarsatomi, in the manner that the camera lingers scene to scene. The performances follow the direction and are subdued, full of grace and subtlety. And while the pacing may be a little too slow for audiences accustomed to the breakneck speed of Hollywood films, there is something distinctly beautiful and haunting Hakkar achieves by refraining from beating you over the head with exposition and heavy dialogue. Economically shot and directed with precision, A Few Days of Respite is an unexpectedly resonant film that will have you thinking about the fate of these three characters.
