Women Without Men is the feature film debut of Shirin Neshat, the Iranian visual artist who has become renowned for her explorations of Islam and gender relations. Adapted from the novel by Iranian author, Shahrnush Parsipur, the film weaves together the lives of four Iranian women in 1953 when a coup d’état backed by the Americans and British removed the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. The four women represent different social classes and the film details how each of them is mistreated by the society in which they live, leading them to visit a garden outside of Tehran which is a literal and metaphorical refuge from the injustices of their lives.
The acting of the four main women is universally strong and Hungarian actress, Orsolya Tóth, is particularly impressive as the mute, anorexic prostitute, Zarin. A scene in which she rubs her body raw in a public bath is gruelling to watch but her expression of hurt and anxiety is moving throughout. The main male characters are also well portrayed though there is a tendency to let them fall into pastiche meaning that the characterisation of men as bad guy and women as martyrs at times seems a little contrived.
The emphasis of the film is the marginalisation of the female in Islamic society, especially clear when Amir Khan (Essa Zahir) asks Faezah (Pegah Ferydoni) to marry him, telling her in an off hand way that his current wife will become her servant; to this she asks whether she will be the servant of his third wife, leaving him speechless but still oblivious to his own misogyny. The shots of Iran are at times stunning, as we might expect from someone who is known for her artistic video installations. The garden to which the women retreat is particularly beautiful and the contrast between the peacefulness of the Iranian countryside and the trouble of the city is captured with skilful ease.
But despite having a moving plot, strong acting and some fantastic cinematography, Women Without Men doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts. It tries to do too much and there is not time to build a relationship with all the characters, particularly Farrokhlagha, the upper class wife of an Iranian general. It is worth watching for the beauty of the filming but if you’re looking for a thorough exploration of the contradictions of Iranian culture I suggest you look elsewhere.
