It's difficult to explain exactly why, but no other country is current producing better, more interesting films about children than Iran.
The latest addition to that nation's increasingly impressive canon is "A Time for Drunken Horses," a mesmerizing, heartbreaking drama that may be the ultimate test of audience sympathy toward on-screen characters.
By the end, if you're not at least slightly choked up by what happens, you might want to have your emotional state of mind examined. This is definitely a three-hanky film, at the very least.
It's also something of a surprise, considering its deceptive storytelling simplicity — especially its low-budget origins. The film's cast is made up largely of amateurs, which seems to be the new trend in Iranian filmmaking.
However, without exception, these newcomers give startlingly vivid and realistic performances, particularly Ayoub Ahmadi, who stars as Ayoub, the oldest child of an Iranian family in turmoil.
Ayoub and his siblings (three sisters and two brothers) suddenly find themselves without means of support when their smuggler father disappears and is presumed dead. What's worse, their handicapped brother Madi (Mehdi Ekhtiar-Dini), is critically ill and will die unless he gets a much-needed operation.
So Ayoub drops out of school, taking a series of ill-fated jobs that he hopes will raise the funds before Madi's condition worsens.
Unfortunately, his efforts as a smuggler go awry, and his employers refuse to pay him, despite his hard work.
Meanwhile, the oldest daughter, Ameneh (Ameneh Ekhtiar-Dini), has agreed to marry an Iraqi Kurd — but only on the condition that the groom's family will pay for Madi's medical procedure.
There's a sense of sadness that pervades the film, but it's to writer-director Bahman Ghobadi's credit that it's not done in an oppressive or depressing manner. Instead, you feel genuine compassion and admiration for these characters and their ability to keep at it under the most trying of circumstances.
Also, considering how dialogue-heavy the film is, it moves with a surprising briskness, and Ghobadi and cinematographer Sa'ed Nikzat capture some startling, beautiful images. (The smuggling sequences, which give the movie its rather unique title, are especially well done.)
That would seem to take the pressure off the cast, but, frankly, their efforts are up to snuff as well.
While Ahmadi, who has the major role, is the obvious standout, the performance by Mehdi Ekhtiar-Dini (one of four family members in the cast) may be the most remarkable, given his disabilities.
"A Time for Drunken Horses" is not rated but would probably receive a PG for brief violence against animals. Running time: 77 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com