The Patience Stone (film)
The Patience Stone (Persian: سنگ صبور) is a 2012 French-Afghan war drama film directed by Atiq Rahimi, based on his 2008 novel of the same title. Written by Jean-Claude Carrière and the director, the film stars Golshifteh Farahani, Hamid Djavadan, Massi Mrowat, and Hassina Burgan.
| The Patience Stone | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Atiq Rahimi |
| Written by | Atiq Rahimi Jean-Claude Carrière |
| Produced by | Michael Gentile |
| Starring | Golshifteh Farahani Hamid Djavadan Massi Mrowat Hassina Burgan Malik Akhlaqi |
| Cinematography | Thierry Arbogast |
| Edited by | Hervé de Luze |
| Music by | Max Richter |
Release date |
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| Countries |
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| Language | Dari |
The film was selected as the Afghan entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, although it was not nominated.[1] Golshifteh Farahani was nominated for the Most Promising Actress award at the 39th César Awards.[2] The film is set in Afghanistan and filmed in-country and in areas of Morocco that resembled Soviet-era housing in Kabul. It was produced with participation from the French Ministry of Culture (Ministère de la Culture), Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, and multiple independent film production companies. The U.S. release was distributed by Sony Picture Classics.
Plot
The movie and the book is based on old Persian Mythology, Sang-e Sabour سنگ صبور, a magic stone that one an talk to all their secrets and hardship. Once all is told, the stone explodes, as if the burden of the person has been transferred to it and the person is relived of their depressed state.[3][4] The story happens somewhere, in war-torn Afghanistan, and is about a young woman in her thirties who watches over her older husband in a decrepit room. He is reduced to a vegetative state because of a bullet in the neck. Not only is he abandoned by his companions in Jihad (one of whom has shot him during an argument), but also by his brothers.
One day, the woman decides to tell the truth to her silent husband, explaining to him her feelings about their relationship. She talks about her childhood, her suffering, her frustrations, her loneliness, her dreams, her desires. She says things she could never have said before, even though they have been married for 10 years. The paralyzed husband unconsciously becomes her sang-e sabour, absorbing all her sufferings and secret suppressed thinking.
In her wait for her husband to come back to life, the woman struggles to survive and live. She finds refuge in her aunt's place, who is a prostitute, and the only relative who understands her. The woman seeks to free herself from suffering through the words she delivers audaciously to her husband. Meanwhile, she starts a relationship with a young soldier who helps her financially and around the house.
The story also reveals social problems like male dominance and the fact that many Afghan women have been neglected and humiliated for so long.
Cast
- Golshifteh Farahani as The woman
- Hamid Djavadan as The man (as Hamidreza Javdan)
- Hassina Burgan as The aunt
- Massi Mrowat as The young soldier
- Mohamed Al Maghraoui as The mullah (as Mohamed Maghraoui)
- Malak Djaham Khazal as The neighbor
- Malik Akhlaqi as The Malikdelha
- Marwa Safa Frotan as the childhood of Golshifteh
- Sofia Frotan as sister of Golshifteh
- Yesna Frotan as the smaller sister of Golshifteh
Critical reception
The Patience Stone has a 'fresh' rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
See also
References
- ^ . Le Pacte. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Berenice Bejo, Lea Seydoux, Roman Polanski Among France's Cesar Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
- ^ "The Patience Stone: Sang-E Saboor | IndieBound.org". www.indiebound.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ "معنی سنگ صبور | لغتنامه دهخدا". www.vajehyab.com. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ "The Patience Stone (2013)". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
External links
- Official site at Sony Pictures Classics
- The Patience Stone at IMDb
- The Patience Stone at Box Office Mojo
- The Patience Stone at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Patience Stone at Metacritic